Seeing is Deceiving
by sinfulchihuahua0602
Summary: Odin died in the beginning of Ragnarok, but Hela never came. Instead, Thor became King of Asgard, and Loki a Prince. All is well, until Jotunheim declares war upon Asgard, and Loki discovers the Collector's new addition to his collection. . . ***DISCONTINUED***
1. Chapter 1: Found

**_All recognizable Marvel content belongs to Marvel, not me._**

The sounds of war rang out among the cold ice plains of Jotunheim. The wind slammed against the two armies, blowing snow around in a blinding whirlwind of white. The sound of metal Asgardian blades hitting Jotun ice blades was present everywhere, and the ground was stained with blood and littered with as many Asgardian corpses as there were Jotun corpses.

Loki was in the middle of it. He shot another burst of magic at a Jotun, who fell to the ground, and he stood over an icy blue box at his feet-the Casket of Ancient Winters. Loki bent down and picked it up, feeling the familiar ice spread through his body as he changed into his Jotun form, and felt the Casket respond to his change. It came alive in his hands; power surged through Loki, and he felled the next six Frost Giants who came charging at him.

He felt the air grow electric and bent backwards as Mjolnir came flying, passing an inch in front of his face to slam into the bodies of seven Frost Giants, all in a row, and Thor stopped beside Loki as the hammer returned to his hand.

"They're almost all gone. They should be surrendering soon," Thor half-shouted, over the howl of the wind. Loki nodded as Thor ran off, and continued to fight the Frost Giants that threw themselves at him.

The wind and snow suddenly stopped, and Loki could finally see more than a foot in front of him. He saw several pockets of Frost Giants fighting Asgardians; Thor ran between all of them. Sif finished one of her opponents, only to whirl around and engage in fierce battle with another, and the Warriors Three were all occupied with quite a bit of Frost Giants.

Loki wasn't being rushed by any more Jotuns; he teleported himself to one of the Warrior's battles and began fighting.

...

"I see you have emerged victorious." Heimdall's deep voice rumbled through the chamber as Loki, Thor, the Warriors Three, Sif, and a number of remaining Asgardian warriors walked out of the Bifrost. All had wounds; none were left unscathed. Eir, the lead healer, and a party of other healers stood to the side, but quickly began to disperse through the crowd as they came through. Within seconds, every Asgardian soldier had at least one healer assigned to them.

"We won, but it was close. Send some reinforcements, Heimdall, to bring the prisoners back," Thor said, gesturing to about sixty Asgardian soldiers waiting on the Bifrost. The soldiers walked into the portal in neat ranks on one side of the raised platform Heimdall stood on, while the healers and the other soldiers walked towards Asgard on the other side. Thor and Loki stood in the middle.

As the chamber emptied, Thor nodded respectfully at Heimdall. "I thank you once again for your services for Asgard," he said.

Heimdall returned the nod. "It is my pleasure, Your Majesty. I will never hesitate to provide services to Asgard in time of need."

Thor and Loki exited the chamber. Thor flew to the palace using Mjolnir, while Loki simply teleported himself to the throne room. He handed the Casket of Ancient Winters to one of the guards and requested it be put back in the vault.

Loki walked up to Thor as he burst in to the doors. "Why do you think the Jotuns attacked us like that? They've known we have the Casket for years and have never bothered to attack until now," he asked.

Thor simply shrugged. "I do not know, brother, but I do not like it. Their army was far larger than it should have been. Where are they getting all those soldiers? Their numbers went from a mere ten thousand to nearly two hundred thousand. They should not have been able to get that many."

"An outside force, perhaps?" Loki suggested. Thor shook his head adamantly and walked around the throne room. Loki took a few steps forward, then stopped and watched his brother pace.

"The Jotuns would never have accepted help from an outsider. They would've known that there was a chance of betrayal, and if the outsider obtained the Casket before they did, they would have almost complete control over the Jotuns due to their need for its power. We've never used it-we've never had any reason to control the Jotuns since our grandfather defeated them hundreds of years ago-but it has always been possible to force them to bend to our will using the promise of the Casket's power," Thor reasoned.

Loki shrugged. "We'll figure it out eventually. They're subdued for now." He moved to turn away, but stopped at Thor's voice behind him.

"Brother, don't you think a visit to the Collector is due? We haven't checked on the Aether for several months. It would be wise to do it now, to make sure that if there is an outside force behind this, the Aether is secure," Thor said.

Loki nodded and, without turning around, said, "I will do that now. Expect me back sometime tonight.

...

Loki followed the servant through the winding hallways of the Collector's maze. He pointedly ignored most of the displays in the cases and instead tried to stare ahead, at the girl's pink skin. She held her hands in a praying position at her chest, with her elbows sticking out, and she walked with precise, measured steps, which made progress slow through the halls.

Finally, Loki rounded a corner and spotted the Collector standing in the middle of the aisle. The servant girl stopped and bowed deeply.

"Taneleer Tivan, the Collector," she said, and walked off. Loki waited a few minutes before she finally went out of earshot, then he spoke.

"Taneleer," he said smoothly, nodding in acknowledgement.

Taneleer did not return the favor—he was not one for social graces. He wasn't really one for social contact, either, given how he was just slightly insane. Just slightly.

"I presume you have come to check on the Aether?" he asked in his slow drawl and, at Loki's nod, turned and began leading the way.

After endless minutes of silent walking through the aisles, they looked on to see a stone pedestal with the Aether's case on it. Loki could barely distinguish the faint red glow from the black sides of the golden-rimmed box.

Taneleer produced a coin and casually tossed it at the case. It bounced off a magical barrier that glowed where it hit, but then faded away to invisibility.

"This surrounds the entire case," Taneleer said and, as if to prove his point, dropped a coin on top of the case. It was shot away by the magical barrier, and Taneleer smiled.

Loki, having been satisfied, turned to leave, but Taneleer stopped him.

"Would you like to view my most recent addition to my Collection?" he drawled slowly. Loki turned on his heel in a slow circle back towards the Collector, knowing that he'd want to be anywhere but here, but he, unlike Taneleer, had at least some idea of basic social graces. He couldn't very well refuse; after all, the Collector was taking care of the Aether, and even going so far as to provide it with a magical barrier, though Loki wasn't sure how much of that was simply his own guard against theft and not a favor to the Asgardians.

"Yes, I would. . . very much. . . like to," he said. Fortunately, Taneleer didn't pick up on the sarcasm, but simply began to lead Loki down the hallways once more.

"I decided to take a trip to Jotunheim. Asgard has just won a battle with them, no?" Taneleer asked as they walked.

"Yes, we have," Loki replied, and Taneleer continued almost instantly after.

"Your guards did not look hard enough," he said as they approached a tall glass case with something gray and shapeless in the corner.

"I found her inside the palace," Taneleer drawled, "in the dungeons."

Loki nodded absently, his attention focused on the figure in the case. She was curled up in the corner, wearing a gray cloak and bent down. The hood of the cloak covered her face; she remained completely still and silent.

"A girl?" Loki asked. Taneleer nodded.

"Yes. She could be Asgardian; she looks human enough," he said. Loki nodded slowly.

"I'll take her back to Asgard."

 _A/N: The first few chapters will be a bit uneventful, but they're only the prelude to the action! I already have the first several chapters written out, so I can promise you that there will be lots of action coming._

 _This is one of my first fanfictions, so reviews would be appreciated. :)_


	2. Chapter 2: Quiet

Loki pulled the girl along. She still hadn't revealed her face; she remained with her head down, hood casting a shadow over her features. She kept silent, letting Loki lead her along as they walked through the hallways of the palace.

He paused by two guards, then motioned for them to follow him. He continued walking to her new chambers; he posted the guards outside the doors and went inside with the girl.

He sat on the soft bed in the bedchamber, wrinkling slightly the lilac sheets, and watched her as she sat beside him. She was a complete mystery; how Taneleer had found her, Loki didn't know. He needed to tell his guards to look harder next time they took prisoners from a place like Jotunheim; they couldn't be missing people like her, who might be important to their cause.

Loki wasn't used to being gentle with people, but he made an attempt now, as she sat still on the bed, head bent down.

"Do you mind telling me who you are?" he asked, and waited. She made no response.

"I won't hurt you. I saved you from Taneleer, didn't I?" The words felt strange in Loki's mouth. He never really treated people like this, like frightened animals that he needed to get to trust him. He understood the feeling, of course-he wasn't very easily trusting, either, but no one had treated him like this. They had either abused him, like Thanos, or put him in chains, like Odin-there wasn't really an inbetween.

Her head slowly raised, and she faced him, though the hood still kept her eyes in shadow and she had a handkerchief covering her mouth. Her hand raised up slowly and she lifted the hood back.

She looked at him with a sad expression in her eyes, as if she couldn't believe he would really be nice to her. _You'd really not hurt me?_ her eyes seemed to say. Loki could see the innocence in her eyes, as well as the hurt-years of hurt and pain.

Loki's eyes darted down, then back up at her. He nodded. "No, I won't hurt you."

He paused, then decided to continue, in the same quiet, gentle voice he'd started in.

"What's your name?" he asked. She glanced down, then looked back up. Her hand hesitantly went up to the gray handkerchief covering her mouth and she pulled it down.

"Lya," she said.

Loki nodded. "These are your new chambers for now. I still don't know exactly who you are, or why Taneleer thought you were interesting, or why you were on Jotunheim, but I do know that Asgard is safe for you."

...

"Thor, Taneleer found a girl on Jotunheim where we did not. She is in one of the guest chambers; her name is Lya," Loki said as he strode into the throne room. Thor dismissed the guards he was talking with and focused on Loki.

"Then I shall go to interrogate her now," Thor said. He rose and walked down the raised platform of the throne before Loki quickly interrupted him.

"No, she is very shy. I think. . ." Loki remembered the pain he saw in her eyes. "I think she's been hurt so much by the people she's been with that she doesn't trust anyone, and she's very skittish. I don't think she'd take well to you if you barged in and started interrogating her. I could barely get her to say her name, or reveal her face," Loki said.

"Not to worry, brother. I don't just have to talk to her to get information," Thor replied quickly, still walking swiftly out of the throne room. Loki followed, but at this comment he stopped completely.

Thor stopped several paces ahead of him and turned around. "Loki, what's wrong?"

Loki looked at Thor in disbelief. "You'd seriously consider torturing her for information? She's committed no crimes against Asgard!"

Thor shrugged. "If I must. I feel as if you, as the god of mischief, should know that seeing is deceiving."

Loki started walking again. "Yes, in some cases, but not in hers. She's damaged, Thor. Life hasn't treated her well. Do you really want to make that worse?"

Thor turned a corner by following Loki. They were in the hallway her rooms were in.

"Well, if she's anything like you were, she'll fall into madness and attempt to take over a realm or two," Thor quipped, and pushed open the door.

Loki followed Thor in and the first thing he saw when they entered the bedchambers was Lya jump back against the pillows as Thor thundered in. He held Mjolnir in one hand, and he sat on the end of the bed, which sagged beneath his weight. Loki stood by the doorway, and Lya's eyes darted fearfully from Loki to Thor, Loki to Thor.

Loki felt a pang in his chest as her eyes paused at him with a question in them, as well as a bit of betrayal in their orange depths.

"I am Thor. You are Lya, correct?"

Lya's eyes darted back to Thor as he spoke, and she froze. She gave a small nod; she seemed to shrink into the pillows even more.

Thor caught this move. "Don't hide, come down on the bed!" his voice boomed through the chambers. Loki saw Lya visibly flinch at how loud it was. Why did his brother have to be so obnoxious and ignorant?

"Thor, I told you she was shy. This isn't helping. This is exactly what I said _not_ to do," Loki snapped from the doorway.

Thor half-turned towards Loki. "I'm just talking to her, brother! It can't be that bad," he said. Loki groaned inwardly; never had his brother been so ignorant of people's feelings. He sighed and shook his head.

"Now, who are you? I know you're Lya, but who are you specifically? Why were you on Jotunheim? Why did Taneleer think you were interesting?" Thor fired off questions, and Lya seemed to shrink even further into the pillows, if that was even possible.

"Thor!" Loki snapped, and Lya flinched. "You aren't helping. This will not work if you do it like this," he said, and pointed out the door sternly. Thor got up and glared at Loki before he walked out of the room.

Loki waited until his footsteps had receded completely out of the chambers before he relaxed against the door frame and sighed. "I apologize for my brother. He's a bit. . . on the obnoxious side." He walked over to the bed and gently sat down on it; Lya visibly relaxed, and she slowly, cautiously made her way down the pillows to sit next to Loki.

"He's loud," she said softly. Loki's head snapped towards her at her voice, and she looked up at him. Loki felt the familiar unsettling feeling he got from looking at her orange eyes. They were just so much like Heimdall's. . .

He gave a short laugh. "Well, that's one way to put it. Thor is definitely loud."

He looked down at her again. "Where _do_ you come from?"

"Nowhere. Everywhere," she replied in her whisper voice.

He nodded, still not quite understanding. He tried again. "Why were you in the Jotuns' dungeons?"

She hesitated, but eventually said, "Heimdall, right? He's an Omniscient. That's what I am."

"So you can see things? Like, what my brother is doing right now? What Heimdall himself is doing right now? What anyone across the Nine Realms is doing right now?" Loki asked. Lya nodded.

"Inside," she said. "Souls, thoughts, feelings."

She paused and hesitated, then continued. "Your soul is cracked. From a woman's death."

Loki was taken aback. How did she know that he was still mourning over Frigga, even though he himself hadn't noticed until now that it was a sensitive topic for him? He looked down at Lya again from his study of the wall; she glanced back up at him.

"Why were you in Jotunheim in the first place? How did you get there?" Loki asked. That was the final piece of information he needed to know.

"Slavery. From servant to Frost Giants' tool," she said in her quiet whisper of a voice. Loki nodded. They fell into comfortable silence.

"Would you mind meeting Thor again? I'll try to make him be less thundery, but I'm not quite sure it'll work."

Lya shook her head. "Makes my head hurt." She touched his arm, and images flashed through Loki's mind.

" _Well, if she's anything like you were, she'll fall into madness and attempt to take over a realm or two," said a deep voice from outside. Lya heard the door click open, and two sets of footsteps walked through the sitting room into her bedroom. The door to her bedroom burst open and Lya, startled by the outburst, leapt back onto the pillows._

 _Loki and a muscly man with long blonde hair came in wielding a hammer. Lya felt the bed sag heavily as the blonde man sat on the end. She caught Loki's look of annoyance at the blonde man._

 _Loki usually radiated pain and hurt in soft, quiet waves. Now, the blonde man slammed Lya with confidence, and she could also detect a bit of doubt in there too. The blonde man's arrogance swept over her in a crushing wave, and Lya's ears started to ring. She felt her head begin to pound a couple seconds later; the blonde man was an assault of feelings and emotions. She could hear his thoughts, and they were so loud, they just added to the cacophony inside her head, which hurt even more. She remembered Loki's words saying that he wouldn't hurt her. This man didn't seem so friendly. She glanced from the blonde man to Loki in an attempt to take it all in._

" _I am Thor. You are Lya, correct?" Even his voice was loud. Lya froze in fear, and resisted the urge to put her hands to her head, but her eyes went back to Thor and she gave a small nod. She tried to shrink back further into the pillows, to get away from the bombardment of feelings, thoughts, and emotions Thor was giving off. Plus, she was also afraid of him. He was too loud; loud people were dangerous. They did stupid things that got them hurt, or even killed._

" _Don't hide; come down on the bed!" Thor's voice boomed; she flinched. Lya's ears rang; she felt another crushing wave of feelings and emotions slam into her._

" _Thor, I told you she was shy. This isn't helping. This is exactly what I said_ not _to do," Loki's quiet voice came from the doorway, though Lya could feel the irritation coming off of him. It calmed her slightly, and it seemed to placate Thor's assault, for a moment at least._

Loki returned to the present. Lya withdrew her light fingers from his arm and looked up at him. He nodded in understanding.

"He's like this with all strangers," Loki said. "You'll have to meet him eventually. He's the King of Asgard; he won't allow anyone to stay here that he hasn't met, even on my authority."

Lya nodded. Loki rose and walked halfway to the door before he turned around to face Lya. "If there's anything you need, there should be a servant coming here shortly."

Lya nodded, and Loki turned and walked out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3: Espionage

_A/N: My parents are really strict, and they only allow me an hour of computer time a day. Also, I have a tendency to lose inspiration for stories for a while before I start writing again. For this, I am going to try to spread out the chapters a bit. Hopefully this way, I can stay well ahead of the chapters I'm posting so I have some chapters to post even if I lose inspiration, and you all won't have to wait more than a week for a chapter. This chapter is longer, so I'm not going to update for a couple days, but the action is coming up soon, I promise. It all starts here . . ._

 _Enjoy the story!_

 **two weeks later**

"My king! There is a messenger from Jotunheim waiting for your presence," the servant said as he kneeled before the throne.

"Send him in," Thor commanded, and the servant straightened and ran off. Minutes later, the servant came back with a teenage boy following behind. The servant stepped aside, and the boy kneeled before the throne.

"Rise," Thor ordered, and the boy obeyed. "State your message."

"M-my king," he stuttered, "the king of Jotunheim will-will not stand for Asgard's, uh, incompetence. He, uh, says that he will fight for the Casket of Ancient W-Winters, even if. . .if all of Jotunheim dies because of it."

Thor remembered Odin's words to him, under the threat of Malekith's invasion of Asgard.

 _We will_ fight! _Till the last Asgardian breath, till the last drop of Asgardian blood._

He understood where the Jotun king was coming from, just as he had understood where Odin had been coming from, but he could not agree with it. He had to disagree with both of them.

"My king," the boy continued, "the king of Jotunheim declares war."

…

Khai delivered his message. The doors to the throne room swung quietly open behind him, and the other prince of Asgard came striding in. Khai vaguely remembered his name-Loki, was it?

Thor dismissed both the servant and Khai, but Khai didn't go immediately back to the Bifrost. He waited until the servant had left in front of him, then slipped behind a column in the throne room. He listened to the conversation between Thor and Loki.

"What is it? Did you get anything out of her?" Thor's voice was quieter now, not as loud.

"As I told you, she is very shy. I was able to get something out of her, but she is afraid of you. You're rather. . . intimidating," Loki's quiet, calm voice came from down the room, a bit closer than Thor's voice was. Khai slipped to the next pillar to position himself in a better spot to hear their conversation.

Thor gave a short laugh. "I can imagine. A small girl like herself? She's tiny!"

"She is an Omniscient, like Heimdall, but she is more powerful than him, for she can see feelings and thoughts as well. She served as a servant for many years in many places, and eventually ended up in Jotunheim as the Frost Giants' tool," Loki continued. Khai knew they were talking about Lya-the girl he had served meals to many times in Jotunheim, in the darkest depths of the dungeons. She had disappeared after the battle the day before, and the king of Jotunheim had taken his wrath out on Khai. He had eventually decided to declare war, and sent Khai as fast as possible to Asgard.

But Khai had another mission-to spy on Asgard. He continued to listen to the conversation between Thor and Loki.

"Will she see me again?" Thor asked.

"She says that she will see you again, though I suggest you not be so intimidating. You tend to intimidate any strangers you meet and disregard their feelings," Loki replied bluntly. Khai stifled a gasp. Loki was speaking treason against the throne! Then, he remembered they were brothers, but he still had his doubts. The fallen prince didn't exactly have the best of reputations among the Nine Realms, and who better to punish him than the Allfather himself, just as Odin had done before?

"Well, then we shall go," Thor said mildly, and Khai heard him rise from his throne. Khai snuck from pillar to pillar as they moved down the hallway. He slipped out of the throne room doors just as they started to close, and managed to sneak past the guards.

Khai stood just behind Loki as they walked, and his eyes continually searched for places to hide should the prince turn around suddenly.

Loki suddenly stopped, and Khai almost ran into him. He stopped himself at the last minute, though.

Thor stopped as well. He looked at Loki in confusion. "Broth-"

"Shh," Loki said sharply, his finger to his lips. He stood perfectly still, and Khai feared that he'd be discovered. He became a statue behind Loki. Khai's heart pounded wildly in his chest, and he held his breath in fear.

Loki turned around in one smooth, fast motion, and Khai leapt out of the way of his line of sight. He landed unceremoniously in a heap on the floor, near inches from the safety of shadows, and Loki's eyes darted towards him.

Khai looked up to see Loki's disdainful smirk as he strode up to him. The prince towered over Khai, who hadn't gotten up from the floor. "I knew we were being watched," he said coldly.

Thor appeared at Loki's side. "How did you know?"

"I'm not called the God of Mischief for nothing," Loki replied bitingly as he turned away. Khai got up, and Thor turned and followed Loki as he walked a few paces away.

"So. . . you're not going to punish me?" Khai asked tentatively as they started walking.

Loki gave a harsh laugh. "Oh, I'll punish you. We're not just going to Lya's chamber's anymore," he said. Khai moved to run away, but Loki snapped around and his hand flew out, seizing Khai's wrist. Khai was yanked towards them, and Loki roughly pulled him along down the Asgardian palace's twisting corridors.

They stopped in front of a set of golden double doors. "Wait here," Loki said to Thor, who nodded in slight confusion, and both Khai and Loki vanished.

Khai still felt Loki's grip on his wrist as they appeared near the Bifrost chamber. Heimdall was turned away from them, stoically guarding the sword on the raised platform, and Loki jerked Khai towards him as the boy stumbled away from the prince.

"What do you know?" Loki asked in a harsh voice, bending down near him.

Khai put on a stutter. "Y-Your M-Majesty-"

"Don't play with me," Loki warned, his voice deadly quiet. Fear shot through the boy's body; he knew the prince was not the kindest person he could have been caught by. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why did he even try this? Following the God of Mischief himself? Surely he knew better than that. And yet, it was his orders from the Jotun king. He couldn't disobey them, not if he wanted shelter, and food, and water. He had to return to Jotunheim with some useful information from spying on Asgard.

Khai abandoned the stutter instantly. The king of Jotunheim would definitely not be pleased with him when he got back-if he got back. "Your Majesty, Jotunheim has declared war on Asgard. The king says he will fight for the Casket of Ancient Winters even if every Jotun dies because of it. And, I learned that you have Lya and you know that she was being used by the Frost Giants."

Loki nodded. He let go of Khai's arm, though the boy knew that he would not be able to escape easily. He stood and watched Loki as he straightened and looked back at Asgard, then back at Khai.

"Listen to me," he said sharply. "You are now a spy for Asgard. You will report information to us when we call on you, and you will find out as much as possible from the king of Jotunheim. Do anything you can to maintain your position as the Jotuns' royal messenger. I will have Heimdall watch you, and if you betray us, the consequences will not be pleasant for you."

Khai nodded meekly. He was a messenger; his job depended on the need. Messengers roamed the Nine Realms randomly until someone called on them for a message or, as Loki was asking, spying. They were an oppressed people; Khai's living conditions depended wholly on who employed him. He figured that a job for both a king and a prince would pay well in the case of living conditions.

Loki began walking towards Heimdall, who pushed the sword into its slot and half-turned towards them as Khai and Loki walked around the raised platform. Khai could feel the gatekeeper's golden eyes burning into him, but he kept his gaze averted.

"What do you require of me?" Heimdall asked in his deep voice.

"Passage to Jotunheim, near the palace," Loki said, and the Bifrost clicked into place and the portal opened. Khai could feel the gravity of the portal from where he stood next to the raised platform, and Loki pushed Khai forward. As he walked into the rainbow bridge, he glanced back and saw Loki go up to Heimdall and mutter something to him-probably telling him of their _arrangement._

Khai was whisked away to Jotunheim. He looked away from the blinding colors of the Rainbow Bridge around him and up towards the white snow and ice of Jotunheim.

He dropped unceremoniously into the snow and recovered quickly. The Jotun palace, in all its icy majesty, loomed above him, and he looked back down at the Frost Giant guards that stood in front of the immensely tall double doors, which were made of ice like the rest of the palace and were elaborately carved with swirling designs and the crest of Jotunheim.

He walked forward. "Khai, royal messenger," he told the guards, and they opened the doors. He walked in, knowing the halls of the palace by heart, and found the throne room easily, where the Jotun king sat. He frowned as Khai came in; he hadn't expected him to be so quick.

"What have you found?" the king's voice boomed. Khai rose from his kneel in front of the throne and looked up towards the king's immensely tall throne.

"Asgard has gotten my message. They have Lya, and they know she's an Omniscient and she was being used by you," Khai reported. The king frowned, and Khai did his best to resist the cold, though his body was shaking with shivers.

"Go back. Disguise yourself as a servant and spy on Asgard," the king said. Khai panicked; how could he spy on both Jotunheim and Asgard at once?

But Khai only nodded and left the throne room. He found the earlier mark of the Bifrost, when he had first traveled to Asgard, and he used ancient magic to transport himself back to Asgard without use of the Bifrost. It was something that messengers passed down from generation to generation; how to transport yourself using only the previous mark of the Bifrost. It was a short spell and required almost no energy to perform, as well as no magic; the energy and magic of the mark itself was activated. Little did the rest of the Nine Realms know, just the mark of the Bifrost was charged with enough energy to transport hundreds of people using the ancient spell. Eventually, the mark faded when its magic was used. Otherwise, it had to be covered up.

He found himself in the palace, and he felt the chill of the king's magic as he was dressed in a servant's clothes and was holding a tray of fruit and wine. He knew he couldn't do this; he had to tell Loki that the king asked him to spy on Asgard, because Loki had requested his services first and so his loyalty went first to him and second to the king. Khai set the tray off to the side and started walking.

He avoided the guard's stares. He had no idea where he was going.

Khai turned a corner and almost ran into Thor. He stumbled backwards, and Thor simply grunted in slight annoyance and continued on. However, he stopped when Khai spoke to him.

"M-my lord," he said, "where is Prince Loki?"

"Your Highness," he growled, obviously in a foul mood, and Khai kicked himself mentally for forgetting Thor was King of Asgard.

Khai nodded. "Your Highness," he corrected himself. "Could you inform me as to where Prince Loki is?"

Thor nodded. "My brother is in his chambers. Ask a guard to show you the way."

Khai nodded, but he didn't ask a guard. He had a vague idea of where the royal hallway was, and he followed his mental map until he reached a pair of massive golden double doors guarded by several guards.

He nodded to the guards. "I carry a message for Prince Loki," he said. One of the guards turned sharply on his heel and went through the doors.

Khai waited a few minutes until the guard and Loki came out. Loki didn't look all too happy to be interrupted, but he seemed to appear interested when he saw Khai.

Khai bowed. "My lord, I have a message for you," he said. Loki nodded and Khai felt whatever disguise the Jotun king had put on him fall away. He ignored the guard's startled faces as they saw him for who he really was.

He took Khai's arm with his cold fingers and they both vanished. They appeared on an Asgardian tower, and the entire city could be seen from the top.

"What is it?" Loki asked. Khai tore his gaze away from the city and looked towards the prince.

"My loyalty is to you first and the Jotun king second, so I must tell you, the Jotun king has asked me to spy on Asgard. How am I supposed to spy on two realms at once?" Khai asked. Loki considered for a moment.

"I will give you false truths. You will lie to the Frost Giant king and you will learn what he plans on doing. We will know in advance what Jötunheim plans to do to Asgard," Loki ordered. Khai nodded. He was just happy for a way out.

"You will stay in the guest chambers, but you will not be allowed to leave. Every five days I will send you to Jötunheim with false information. You will come back when the Jotun king requests it and the cycle will continue. Understand?"

Another nod. "Pardon me for asking, my lord, but is there any form of payment for this service? It is rather complex—more so than most services I provide."

Loki gave him a sharp look, but Khai managed to stay his ground.

"You get to live in the palace," he said, and both vanished to return back to the palace.


	4. Chapter 4: Taken

_And I'm back! Now that I scroll through this chapter, it's actually pretty short, so I'm going to upload two chapters tonight. This is where it gets interesting._

 _And so it begins . . ._

Loki pushed open the golden doors to Lya's chambers. He found her in the sitting room reading a book; she looked up as he entered and closed the book, setting it down on the small round table beside her.

He sat in the chair on the other side of the table. "Has life in Asgard's palace been treating you well?"

Lya nodded. She still didn't talk much, even after a few weeks of living in the palace. She had met Thor, though she much preferred Loki's company, and she had become well adjusted to her new life.

"Have you been practicing your magic?"

She nodded again, and with a flick of her fingers, her book flew onto one of the shelves in the bookcase on the opposite wall. Loki smirked, and he pulled the book back out almost without thinking.

Lya glanced at him with a playful expression, and Loki felt a force pushing against his magic, trying to put the book back where it was supposed to go.

"Let's see what you were reading, hmm?" he said, and swiped his finger to the side in the air in front of him. The book opened, but quickly closed again as Lya asserted her magic against his. Loki pushed forcefully back, and the book swung open. He felt her magic threatening to slam it closed again, but he pushed back stronger than he had before.

"I can't read the words. I should bring it closer," he said teasingly, and Lya cried out in mock frustration. Loki felt her magic slam against his, and instead of the book floating closer to him, it flew against the bookshelf and snapped closed. It whirled around, spine facing outwards, and returned to its place in the bookcase. Both Loki and Lya relaxed their magic.

"Feisty, are we?" he asked, and Lya laughed.

"I couldn't let you read that," she said, and Loki smirked. He pulled the book back out suddenly, but Lya's magic dropped down on him just as quickly, and the book flew back into place.

"You're getting stronger," he said. Lya shrugged and gave no reply. Loki attempted once more to pull the book out, and he felt her magic push against him, though not as forceful. The book floated in the air halfway between them, straining to be opened, but Lya effectively prevented it.

They struggled like this for a few minutes more before Lya suddenly flew back in her chair. She straightened against the back of it, and Loki felt the full force of her magic slam against him suddenly, completely nullifying his own. The book crushed itself with Lya's push inward, exploding into a mess of pages and leather which slowly drifted to the floor all around them.

But Loki was more concerned for Lya. Her orange eyes flared and were streaked with silver as she arched her back against the chair and her eyes widened. Her gaze went beyond the ceiling; it seemed to be distant, and she cried out in pain before she slumped back against the chair.

Loki stood up and went over to her, his light fingers hovering over her limp body, which was slipping into unconsciousness. He watched her eyes flutter open for just a second, and she mouthed something before her eyes closed again and she went completely limp. Her breathing quickly deepened, becoming even with the rhythm of deep sleep.

Loki replayed how her lips moved in his head. What did she say?

It dawned on him suddenly, and Loki turned and ran out of the chambers.

 _Thor._

…

Loki cast out his magic as he ran through the palace, searching for his brother. He wasn't an Omniscient like Heimdall or Lya, but he had made a weak connection between him and Frigga and Thor so he could know where they were if they needed him. He couldn't see or hear what they were doing—again, he wasn't an Omniscient, but it was enough to know where they were.

Loki burst out of the palace doors and teleported to the Bifrost. He came upon a chaotic scene, and Loki already had two daggers drawn as he appeared in the middle of the Bifrost chamber.

He saw Heimdall fighting against three Frost Giants-who looked more than a little beat up-that struggled to hold him in place as more swarmed through the Bifrost, which was still open. Thor was being assaulted by at least twenty Jotuns at once, and Mjolnir lay on the ground a few feet away.

Everything stopped when Loki appeared. The Frost Giants holding Heimdall all stared at the fallen prince as he stood there, daggers drawn. The Jotuns assaulting Thor stared at him, as if finally realizing that this venture just might be doomed.

Loki strode up to the Bifrost sword and turned the sword, closing the portal in the middle of the next wave of Frost Giants. Some severed limbs came out on the golden floor; Loki, blatantly ignoring them, then turned to the group of Frost Giants holding Thor, who were still frozen, but quickly sprang back into action.

Several of them leaped out towards Loki, while Thor continued struggling under the crowd he was trapped with. Loki dispatched the seven that came at him with deadly efficiency with his two daggers, and ran to help Thor.

As he approached the crowd, three Jotuns suddenly whirled around and threw themselves at Loki. Startled, he was taken down by two of them, but the third simply ran past him. As Loki fought the two that had attacked him, he wondered what the third was up to, until he finally realized—

The Bifrost sword.

Loki felt one Frost Giant seize his wrist, and his other wrist flicked up to slash him in the face with his dagger, but his hand was caught mid-slash and was twisted down. The second Frost Giant jumped on Loki, and he fell over. He didn't even have time to make an illusion, for one of them pulled his hands behind his back and pulled him up by his hair, forcing him to kneel and watch as the thirteen Jotuns that had attacked Thor finally subdued him.

The Giant who held the sword twisted it, and Heimdall, who was still being held, cried out as a portal to Jotunheim was opened. Thor was roughly dragged to the portal, his hands being clenched closed so he couldn't summon Mjolnir from its place at the other end of the chamber, and the party of Frost Giants left with Thor.

Loki jerked suddenly, trying to disarm his opponent, but the Frost Giant only growled and tightened his grip as they moved towards the portal.

Loki concentrated just before he entered the portal, focusing all his mind on Lya, and he sent forth quick flashes of images before he felt the pull of the Bifrost and was sucked in.

…

Lya woke up suddenly from her unconsciousness. Around her was a mess of book pages, and the leather cover was spread about in three different parts around the room. Loki was gone.

She sat back in her chair when she felt it. The tingling that meant unintended visions were coming. She braced herself for the searing flash of white-hot pain that brought them in, when she paused, her back still arched and tense against the back of the chair. She felt nothing.

Lya relaxed again, replaying the scene before she had passed out. She had been playing with the book with Loki using magic; she had finally overpowered him and put it back. He had tried to surprise her, but she knew it was coming and she put it back. Then, he tried again—

 _Lya? Lya! Listen to me, if you can hear me._

Lya jumped at the voice. Loki's voice. She looked around—he always seemed to materialize out of nowhere, but she couldn't see him, even with her special senses.

Suddenly, she felt as if her reality was changing, as if a paper was slowly being slid upon what was really happening.

She looked out upon the Bifrost chamber. Frost Giants were everywhere, and she couldn't move. She was being taken to the Bifrost, which was open—but not by Heimdall. Heimdall was being held by two Frost Giants over to her right, and he was struggling mightily against their strong hands.

 _Lya! Get the Warriors Three and Sif!_

The vision changed to that of palace hallways that she twisted and turned around until she opened a door to a room and found Fandral, one of the Warriors Three. The vision ended abruptly, and she was plunged into darkness for a few seconds before reality returned to her bedroom and the scattered pages on the floor.

Lya stood frozen for a moment before she took action and ran into the entry hallway. She opened the doors and was stopped by the guards' crossed spears. Of course—she was still a prisoner, no matter how well she was treated.

"No, you don't understand! I have to go!" she said hurriedly. The guards didn't relent.

"Understand what? Go where?" one rumbled.

"The king, prince—Gatekeeper—kidnapped to Jotunheim," she said in a rush. The guards took a moment to process it, but they still didn't let her leave.

"Loki sent me to go get the Warriors Three," she said, calmer now. The guards looked skeptical, but they uncrossed her spears.

"Have Fandral send a servant to validate your request, or Asgard's full might will be hunting for you," the first guard warned. Lya disregarded it, nodding quickly in thanks and running down the hallways. The mental images seemed to be burned into her head—she knew exactly where she was and where to go.

She dodged passing servants, who gave her alarmed looks, and waved off questions from the guards that she passed. Several minutes later, she bypassed the guards to Fandral's chambers and burst inside, out of breath from the three flights of stairs.

Fandral was standing by his bed with only his pants on, and Lya forced herself not to look at his bare chest as he stared at her, frozen with shock, his mouth open in surprise, as she ran up to him fearlessly.

"The Frost Giants—Jotunheim—kidnapped—others—," Lya was still panting from her run and her words came out jumbled. Fandral looked even more startled, for she had never spoken to anyone but Loki, and she avoided everyone because of how loud they were. Except for Loki.

She ignored the waves of shock that radiated off of Fandral and his thoughts that whispered in her mind, but focused on the dire situation they were in.

"Lya, speak clearly. What is wrong?" Fandral said as he pulled a shirt over his head.

"Loki, Thor and Heimdall have been kidnapped by the Frost Giants," she said. Fandral started putting his clothes and armor on even faster.

"Well, then we must go," he said grandly as he turned around from his closet fully armored and thrust a sword out in front of him. He grinned, but his humor was lost on Lya, who was only thinking about Loki and what the Jotuns would do to him.

Fandral, realizing that this was no time for humor, quickly sheathed his sword and strode quickly out of his chambers.

Lya followed Fandral as he twisted and turned his way through hallways Lya found she suddenly didn't know anymore. The mental map had vanished as quickly as it had come. Lya stopped a servant on her way and sent them to her chambers to inform the guards and to retrieve her armor, specially given to her by Loki. She followed Fandral as he collected Sif, Hogun, and Volstagg, who all immediately set out for the Bifrost once Lya was fully armored. They reached the Bifrost chambers about fifteen minutes later, and it was empty. The only trace of the Jotuns was the fading chill in the air.

Fandral walked up to the sword slot and put his hand on it, almost mournfully.

"It's gone."


	5. Chapter 5: Violated

Thor and Loki were shoved roughly down before the king of Jotunheim. Loki risked a glance upwards and saw Khai, similarly bound, kneeling beside the throne. A guard stood over the young boy, and Loki understood why he hadn't come the past few days. Khai shot him an apologetic look once he noticed Loki's eyes on him, and the prince gave him a small smile and a nod, and Khai relaxed at the silent forgiveness.

"I have all forms of torture for you two. Heimdall is simply a measure to make sure your precious Asgardians won't come after us," the Jotun king said.

"I think my soldiers need some motivation, do they not?"

…

Lya turned and ran back across the Bifrost, not waiting to see if the Warriors or Sif followed her. She wove through the streets of Asgard, dodging the pedestrians, whose looks matched the ones the servants had given her when she had done this same thing through the hallways of the palace.

She went to one of the nine gardens celebrating each of the Nine Realms. She tread fearlessly through the snow of the Jotun garden, approaching two trees whose branches arced over one another to form a kind of doorway—which was exactly what it was. A doorway to Jotunheim.

Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif followed close behind, and all were panting as they stopped next to Lya, bending down to rest their hands on their knees.

"Here," she said simply as all four straightened. They looked from her to the portal.

"Here? I always thought this was just a cool formation," Fandral said. Lya shook her head.

Sif walked forward until she stood just in front of the portal. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have a king to save."

…

Loki felt the biting metal of the muzzle as it was put over his and Thor's mouths. Their hands were iced together; it was the only way to prevent Thor from summoning Mjolnir, though such measures were not as necessary on Loki. They both wore only a light shirt and pants; they had been stripped of their armor long ago.

He could feel the ice inside him, the Jotun monster inside him, longing to come out, but he fought it. It would not help their situation.

They were dragged into the center of a circle of Frost Giants. Their captors shoved them down into the snow, and Loki felt the metal muzzle grow unbearably cold. Where had the Frost Giants even gotten the muzzles, anyway? He didn't know the Jotuns to be a people that used things like muzzles. They were more primitive than Asgardians or even Midgardians, though they weren't nearly as stubborn as the Midgardians, which was why they weren't kept in the dark about the Realms like Midgard was. The humans would destroy the politics of the Nine Realms with their stubbornness and primitivity if they were allowed into them.

"I present to you, Loki, the Fallen Prince of Asgard," the Frost Giant holding him said, and Loki was jerked up by his hair until he sat on his knees before the circle of Jotun soldiers. He glared at them above the muzzle as they applauded for his capture.

"And Thor, King of Asgard," the other Giant continued. Thor was given the same treatment as the applause doubled into a deafening sound. Loki felt his hands turning blue from the ice; he fought against it still. It wouldn't help, he told himself repeatedly. It wouldn't help.

He heard the sound of metal being drawn; Loki glanced at Thor and they made desperate eye contact as the circle of soldiers advanced upon them, weapons drawn.

"Halt!" one Giant called. The soldiers stopped and stared at the one who had spoken—Loki's captor.

"The only condition—don't kill them. They're our only leverage. And Asgard wouldn't be very pleased with us if we killed their royalty, now would they?"

 _They're not very pleased anyway_ , Loki thought.

There were nods and noises of assent from the crowd. Then, with a maniacal glee in their red eyes, the soldiers advanced.

…

Lya, the Warriors Three, and Sif emerged onto the frozen plains of Jotunheim. They looked around, and saw nothing. All around them was white, white, white.

"Well, this has been helpful," Fandral said sarcastically. Lya just walked forward. She stopped several paces away and stood perfectly still, casting out her senses.

She felt a familiar tingling, and her eyes opened. They were already open physically, but now they opened to the universe. Lya took in all the thoughts, feelings, and sights of the Nine Realms. She felt waves of emotions crashing over her.

She heard and felt the screams of the woman two realms away who was giving difficult birth to a baby. Soldiers were practicing on Vanaheim, sensing the oncoming war between Jotunheim and Asgard and wishing to be prepared if it ever spread to more than the two realms. Lya flipped through the vivid images, sounds, and feelings. A child was angrily arguing with her mother. A family was preparing for a big family dinner, and the first of the guests were arriving. Lya felt the family's elation and excitement at the dinner, which celebrated their second child, a daughter. Three realms from that, on Jotunheim, the Frost Giants were sending out waves of excitement that sparked Lya's own excitement-

The Frost Giants.

Lya looked closer, finding a crowd of Frost Giants gathered all in one place. She pushed through them and looked into the center, which was a mass of yelling and the flash of blades and metal. She saw nothing but blue, until finally the crowd parted for a second and Lya cried out in shock and fear.

Thor and Loki were laying on the ground in the middle of the crowd wearing only a light shirt and pants which were thoroughly ripped up, and all the Jotuns' blades were directed towards them. The prince and king of Asgard both looked as if they were just on the edge of death, and they were unconscious already. Loki was in his Jotun form, and he seemed to be targeted more so than Thor. Heimdall was nowhere to be found, but Lya quickly searched the palace and found him sitting in a prison cell. His worry for Thor and Loki emanated off of him, and Lya could barely keep up with his fast thoughts as he tried to think of a way to escape.

Lya was jerked out of the visions suddenly as she felt Sif's hand on her back. She blinked and returned to Jotunheim, with the Warriors Three and Sif crowded around her, all looking concerned.

"I'm . . . okay," Lya said, just as she felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. She tried to stay upright, but the edges of her vision were black and she couldn't keep herself up. The world tilted, strong hands caught her, and the world went completely black.

 _Suspense! Don't worry, my favorite part to write is coming up. I'll upload it on Monday, probably, unless my urge to upload takes over and I put it up early. It includes quite a few Loki memories, which I love writing for some reason. I also pride myself on my accidental memorization of every Loki scene from The Dark World-not just Loki himself, but what everyone else says in the scene. I tried to take TDW Loki quote quizzes and they all got some quotes wrong. I was disappointed. :(_

 _Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy the next chapter!_


	6. Chapter 6: Hel

_A/N: This is my favorite chapter . . . well, the first part of it is my favorite. I don't know what I like so much about writing memories, but I love writing memories of what happened in the movies. Maybe it's transferring movie emotions and body language and things to writing, trying to interpret visual emotions and make them written . . . I don't know._

 _Anyway, enjoy the story!_

Even in unconsciousness, Loki could feel the pain. The sting of a new cut just added on to the dull, overpowering throb of the thousands of other cuts his body sustained. He floated in darkness, trying to fight his way back to the surface to escape, but he then realized that his situation was not exactly optimal and he sank back into the void.

Loki could hear Hela calling to him, calling to his soul. Distantly, he thought that wasn't right-he wasn't supposed to die, not now. He saw brief glimpses of Helheim, and Hela on her throne, boredly waving forward the dead through Hel's gates, but her interest was piqued when she saw Loki, and she leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with mischief. It reminded Loki very much of himself, when he thought of the perfect trick.

He looked around, feeling strangely detached from his body. The pain of his injuries was gone, and he looked down at himself. He felt as if even his will to live had fled, for he took no feeling from the fact that he was merely a ghost. Accepting that he was dead, Loki moved to walk forward through Hel's gates. He came ever closer to the black void that would transport him to Hel. Loki felt absolutely nothing in regards to his choice of afterlife; he had done some not-so-heroic things, after all, he thought with that same strange sense of detachment from the world. It was like a dream; everything felt surreal and too bright, too vivid, yet he was real-or as real as a ghost could be.

Hela stopped him next to her throne. She smiled humorlessly down at Loki, who just looked blankly up at her. Why was he being stopped? He was dead-shouldn't he be walking through the gates of Hel?

"Loki," she said. Something sparked deep inside Loki's mind, but his eyes remained blank.

"Loki, Fallen Prince of Asgard," she repeated.

 _"I present to you, Loki, the Fallen Prince of Asgard!" the Frost Giant holding him said, and Loki was jerked up by his hair until he sat on his knees before the circle of Jotun soldiers. He glared at them above the muzzle as they applauded for his capture._

Hela recognized the small spark of memory within Loki's eyes. She couldn't lose him now; he was very important in the events that were to come. She had to bring him back.

"Kneel," she said forcefully. Another spark of memory flashed in his horribly blank eyes.

 _Loki stood, overlooking a crowd of humans. He held his scepter in one hand; he could hear Thanos's voice whispering to him. He felt the anger coursing through his blood, making him dangerous, and underneath that anger, there was pain, and hurt. Odin lied to him. Thor was favored over him. He'd never be loved by Odin, or even Thor. He was the younger brother, the forgotten one. Second place. Second in line. Second to be loved._

 _"I said, KNEEL!"_

Loki looked at Hela again. He thought he had some semblance of memory; he was someone, right? Someone important. Maybe he couldn't go to Hel just yet.

"Do the Frost Giants still live?" he asked, suddenly remembering his youth. He had no idea where the memory came from.

 _"The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?" Loki asked, knowing the horrible truth, but unwilling to admit it. He was devastated. He was a Frost Giant? How could that even happen? Why would that even happen?_

 _Odin hesitated. "No. In the aftermath of the battle I went to the temple and I found a baby. Small for a Giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son," he said. Anger suddenly flared within Loki, an anger he had never known, not even when he got into fights with his brother. Not even when he thought of how Odin favored Thor over him. He could feel himself changing. His heart was breaking; his anger rose up like a bonfire._

 _"Laufey's son . . ."_

 _"Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?" he asked. He feared the answer, the real answer. His rage died down just as suddenly as it had appeared and was replaced with curiosity as he waited for Odin to confirm his suspicions, that Odin did not take him out of kindness, but for a reason._

 _"You were an innocent child," Odin replied. Loki didn't believe it. He was lying. Did Odin really think he'd be able to lie to the God of Mischief?_

 _Well, he'd been doing it for several hundred years._

 _Loki still didn't believe it._

 _"No. You took me for a purpose. What was it?" he asked. Odin didn't respond, and Loki's anger flared up again, fueled by the heartbreak he was feeling. "TELL ME!" he shouted, surprised by his own voice but ignoring it and focusing on Odin's answer._

 _Odin looked defeated. "I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace . . . through you."_

 _That was the final straw. Loki's heart shattered. So Odin really didn't love him. He had not been willing to believe it, but Odin had finally admitted it in front of him. He was a monster, a political bargaining chip, less than Asgardian. Less than human. An object._

 _"What?" he asked in disbelief, a small part of him still saying that Odin loved him, that it wasn't true. . ._

 _"But those plans no longer matter," Odin quickly covered up for himself, but Loki wasn't taking it._

 _"So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me?" Loki challenged Odin, whose face changed into that of irritation. Good for him, Loki thought. Odin's anger couldn't match what Loki felt right now. The hurt, the pain, the rage. . ._

 _"Why do you twist my words?" he asked, and Loki's anger flared even more. He was scared of himself, but he ignored his fear and let his rage burn as bright as possible. It coursed through his body, fast and quick, not giving a thought to what he would do to Odin if this went unchecked. For all he cared, his "father" deserved whatever Loki ended up doing to him._

 _"You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?"_

 _"You're my son . . . I wanted only to protect you from the truth," Odin said. Loki's heartbreak returned to break through his rage, and the two emotions fought each other in a war within his chest. He could see Odin's choice of words. He wanted to protect Loki from the truth—not from feeling different, or being a monster, but from the truth. To keep him in the dark so Odin could do whatever he wished with him, because if Loki didn't know, then he would be a complacent little pawn in his twisted political games._

 _"What? Because I-I-I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night?" Loki asked. Odin started to look unsteady, and Loki looked down at his feet in anger._

 _"No! No!" Odin cried. Loki started towards Odin, walking up the stairs to stand beside him._

 _"You know, it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years," he said, his steps quick and angry. He had been betrayed—the ultimate betrayal. Was there anything worse? "Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!" Loki nearly spat this last part, and Odin finally fell against the stairs. Concern then overrode Loki's rage and hurt, and he crouched beside Odin, his hands hovering over his unconscious form. He'd done this. . .he'd put him into the Odinsleep. Through his concern, a plan started to form inside his mind. Thor was banished. . ._

 _"Guards! Guards, please help!"_

Hela nearly burst into relieved laughter as Loki's eyes flashed with recognition. He stared at Hela in a new light, and he finally saw how wrong it was that he was here.

"Why am I here? Last I remember . . . oh," he said. Hela nodded.

"Go back. You know how. You're not supposed to die yet," Hela said. "I'd rather not have the Nine Realms end because you died prematurely. I rather like the Nine Realms—cruel as they are."

It was Loki's turn to nod. He gave a short, sarcastic smirk, and his ghostly form dissipated into the air.

Loki woke up in the throne room of the Jotun palace. A shackle around his ankle chained him to the throne, the other end of the chain buried deep in the ice of the wall. His hands were still iced, and he was blue and covered in wounds.

The Jotun king looked down at him as he sat up.

"You're awake. Good. You are allowed one hour to recover before we start again," the king said. Loki realized the muzzle was off, so he decided to use his "silver tongue."

"At least take the ice off my hands. You couldn't expect me to escape; this is practically a fortress," he said in an attempt to flatter the king. He could at least try to make it easier for himself.

"Silvertongue, Silvertongue," the king scolded. "Your tricks won't work on me. Your hands are remaining as they are."

Loki suppressed a smirk. He didn't need his hands for all his magic, though it wasn't convenient for him to use his magic without his hands. It took more strength and more concentration, but he would risk it. He couldn't let them keep him here.

With a fair amount of concentration for such a simple task, Loki melted the ice on his hands bit by bit. He turned away from the king while doing it, who paid no attention to his supposedly dejected form facing the wall of ice.

Loki brought his ankle towards him as quietly as he could, and laid his finger on it. With a green glow, the lock popped open and Loki rubbed his ankle, which was red from the freezing metal.

He stood up suddenly and whipped around, shooting a blast of magic at the king. He yelled in response, and Loki ran out of the throne room. He saw Thor in the corner of his eye, still unconscious, but kept running.

He took out the guards that rushed in with his magic. He couldn't teleport-he didn't know Jotunheim all that well, so he simply ran.

Loki paused in the hallway and made himself invisible. That would be easier.

Ten minutes later, he made it out of the palace and began to run across the frozen Jotun plains. He cast out his senses for Lya in the hope that he'd find her. If she was still back in Asgard, he wouldn't see anything, but if she was trying to find them with the Warriors Three, he'd be able to know where she was, though very faintly.

He felt a small pulsing. Lya was tracking him, too. Loki followed the pulsing as best he could and ten minutes later, when Loki's breath was coming out in short gasps and his body had long since cramped and was sending bolts of pain up his side, he spotted five figures in the distance.

He kept running, apprehension flaring in his chest. Somehow, this didn't seem right. He felt the wrongness of the situation in his gut, but he ignored it in favor of the prospect of being able to return to Asgard and come back better prepared to save Thor and Heimdall.

Loki slowed as he got closer. Why were the Warriors Three and Sif blue? He recognized Lya in the middle of the other four figures, but he didn't recognize who was around her. As he got closer, he realized that they weren't the Warriors Three or Sif at all.

They were Frost Giants.

…

Lya saw Loki in the distance, running. She desperately wished he would realize that it wasn't what he thought. Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif were not Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, or Sif at all. They were Frost Giants disguised as the Warriors Three and Sif, and they had transformed just as Lya had led them closer to the palace.

Her magic was disabled, and she had a muzzle over her mouth; the Frost Giants kept a firm grip on her wrists, which were pulled behind her back, and she watched Loki as he slowed. Her senses were cast out, so she watched Loki, unable to send a message or any kind of sign, as he stopped and his face turned skeptical.

His mouth opened slightly in a gasp and he vanished suddenly, but Lya could feel him. He was just invisible; she smiled and returned to her physical form. His figure was no longer visible in the distance before them; one of the Frost Giants holding her growled.

"Where did he go?" one of them demanded, in which the others all shrugged. Lya felt a tingling on the back of her neck; she mentally smirked. She waited a few seconds, and then all hell broke loose.

…

Loki crept up on the group, completely invisible. He knew Lya knew he was there; he had felt her watching him earlier. She tensed, and he smirked as the Frost Giants growled.

"Where did he go?" one of them demanded, and Loki grinned. They had no idea he had made himself invisible and teleported to them. He had to imagine a place when he teleported; he could teleport there because he had only to imagine the group. Vague teleporting was dangerous-you never knew where you'd be dropped.

Loki tapped one of them, and they turned around angrily, only to find empty air. Loki tapped another and reached the same result, then, in a flash, he shot a burst of magic at their hands, which let go of Lya as they screamed in pain, and he pulled Lya close to his invisible form. He teleported about a mile away as best he could, where he knew a portal was.

Loki walked through the portal with Lya, ending up in the Frost Garden-one of the nine gardens in Asgard celebrating the Nine Realms-and walked out of the arch the two trees made. He then teleported to the palace, and he finally made himself visible as he laid Lya down in one of the chairs in his chambers.

Loki went into his bedchamber and dressed in a simple shirt and pants, then came back out a few seconds later. With a couple bursts of magic, he freed Lya from the muzzle and healed the cuts on her lips from the brutal, biting metal.

She smiled up at him from her seat in the black velvet chair, but the smile quickly faded as she remembered what had happened.

"We need to go after them," Loki said bluntly. "My question is, where are the real Warriors Three and Sif?"

Lya gave no response, but Loki watched her suddenly still and become as silent as a statue. His ears, which were usually so perceptive, couldn't even hear her breathing. He watched as the orange of her eyes flared again and the orange became threaded with silver. The entire color changed, and Loki could see the galaxy inside Lya's eyes. Her eyes turned into a swirl of colors-pink, blue, red, all swirling together to make a magnificient universe. He continued to watch, entranced, as innumerable stars appeared in her eyes and galaxies came and went in the span of a second. She was beautiful like that, Loki thought, her eyes taking in the entire universe.

They flashed, and Loki saw them go dark. Then, she jerked, and her eyes returned to the fiery orange that so reminded Loki of Heimdall. Her gaze darted to Loki.

"I know where they are."

Fifteen minutes later, they opened a closet and woke up an unconscious Sif with a finger to her forehead and a bit of magic. She sat up with a jerk, and her hand flew to the sheath at her waist. Realizing where she was, she looked between Loki and Lya with a confused expression.

"What happened? Why are you here?" she asked to Loki, and then, towards Lya, "Who are you?"

"This is Lya, an Omniscient. She is helping us retrieve Thor and Heimdall from Jotunheim, where they have been kidnapped," Loki said. "You and the Warriors Three were apparently locked away in closets unconscious while some Frost Giants took your place in the hope of capturing Lya. I escaped from the king and rescued her, and now we are here."

Sif nodded slowly, and Lya still felt some confusion coming off of her, but she stood up and said, "Well, then let's go find Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. We have a king to save."

Lya noticed her choice of words. Those were the exact words the Frost Giant impersonating her had used when they were walking through the portal. Lya remembered the betrayal with a shudder.

 _Lya walked towards where she felt Thor and Loki's pain emanating from. It was a crushing wave of feeling, making Lya want to bend over and start crying from the immense pain. She put it out of her mind as best she could, focusing only on where it was coming from, when suddenly Loki's pulses stopped._

 _Lya stopped with them, and felt the others' confused glances on her. "What's wrong?" Sif asked._

 _"I. . .I can't feel Loki's pain anymore," she said, glancing worriedly at Sif. To her surprise, she smiled._

 _"Well, let's hope they haven't killed him," she said maliciously, and her skin began to turn blue. Her features elongated, and after staring in horror for a few seconds, Lya started to run. She got several feet away before she felt cold hands seize her arms and yank her back._

 _What used to be the Warriors Three and Sif were now tall, bulky Frost Giants. One held a muzzle, and all laughed cruelly as they advanced upon her._

Lya jerked out of her reverie. She followed Loki and Sif through the palace hallways, visiting various closets and servants' quarters which stayed empty for most of the day, and half an hour later they had gathered up the Warriors Three and were ready to depart for Jötunheim.


	7. Chapter 7: Rescue

Heimdall looked around in his dreary prison cell. He sighed. Thor and Loki had been taken away long ago, and it was said that Loki had escaped. Heimdall had used his senses to see where Loki was, and he had, indeed, escaped. He knew that Loki was just departing for Jotunheim now with the Warriors Three and the Omniscient girl, but he feared it would be too late. He heard frighteningly masculine screams coming from upstairs, and when Heimdall cast out his senses once more, he didn't need to be as powerful as the girl was to feel Thor's pain beneath the crowd of blue-skinned Frost Giants.

Heimdall felt Loki's presence vanish suddenly. Usually, when he kept tabs on people, he could feel their presence based on the distance to him. Loki should have been far away, distant, which was what he had been—somewhere very far away, to the east, steadily moving closer—but now he vanished completely. Heimdall had learned by now what it felt like for the god of Mischief to hide himself from the Gatekeeper's view; it wasn't like this. Heimdall couldn't see or hear Loki, and neither could he feel exactly where he was, though he could feel the prince's quiet pulse of his presence. That was when Loki hid himself from Heimdall's view. Now, he simply vanished completely. That usually only happened when. . .

 _No._

Heimdall kept the worry off his face as a pair of guards slid a tray under the door and glared at him through the bars.

Loki couldn't be dead. Could he? Heimdall didn't believe it was possible; he knew the prince, had watched him grow up, and he knew that he would not let himself die so easily. He had faked his death when falling from the Bifrost; he faked his death yet again on Svartalfheim when the Dark Elf stabbed him; surely he could fake his death again?

Heimdall strained his supernatural senses, but still felt nothing. He slumped back, dejected, against the wall. Was the prince dead? Heimdall had never really been against him; at first, Loki's heart was so shattered that he didn't need to be powerful enough to see feelings to know that Loki was more hurt than vengeful. Then, Heimdall could feel the mind control on him as he tried to take over Germany, and destroy New York; his thoughts weren't his own. Or, if they were, they were being influenced. Yet, Heimdall said nothing. He knew Loki would be defeated, and the casualties trivial, no matter what Odin said.

He had always known Loki had never truly been evil, and, though he'd never admit it, Odin was arguably he who had caused all of Loki's heartbreak and pain. Heimdall had supported Thor's views on Odin; the Allfather wasn't exactly the best king in some cases, which was why he'd betrayed the king when Thor asked it of him.

 _Thump. . . Thump. . . Thump._

Heimdall perked up. Was that Loki's presence again? It seemed much. . . closer.

He felt an urge to look up; Heimdall's head went up from his study of the floor to the cell across from him.

Except, the cell across from him was blocked.

Heimdall gave a small smile as, instead of the bars of the other cells, he saw intricate layers of green and black leather and gold metal. And, as he raised his glance upward even more, he saw the smooth, chiseled face of Loki, God of Mischief, and, right now, yes, his savior.

"So you came," Heimdall said by way of greeting as he stood up. Loki nodded shortly.

"So I came. What is Thor going to do, run Asgard without you? Highly unlikely," Loki quipped. Heimdall chuckled.

"I admit, guarding the Nine Realms isn't exactly a low job," Heimdall responded. He had always enjoyed Loki's sense of humor—he rarely got to talk with people who were as intelligent as he was. Even Thor was arrogant and, he admitted, slightly ignorant, though Heimdall held Thor in a high respect, as he did Loki.

Loki flicked his fingers at the ice bars of the cell, and they shattered into thousands of diamond-like shards, reflecting in the light. Heimdall walked out of the cell and nodded to Loki in acknowledgement. Loki returned the nod, and as they began walking, it was then that Heimdall noticed the girl to his right.

"Who are you, that may see so clearly the universe and all that's in it?" Heimdall asked. The girl looked up at him, then lifted her hand to bring up slightly the gray hood that covered her face.

Her eyes were so orange, Heimdall thought on first glance. He'd never seen anyone with eyes such as his; he was unique, and possessed an ability that had not been seen among the Nine Realms for thousands of years. Yet, here was this girl, more powerful than even he, by Loki's side. How had she been discovered?

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Heimdall noticed her eyes begin to thread themselves with silver. She was Seeing, he realized. Was that what happened to his own eyes when he searched the universe?

He jumped-not something many people could make him do-as she spoke suddenly in a soft, quiet voice. "You're Heimdall," she said simply, and he nodded. He gave a small smile, and she seemed to relax a little bit.

"Indeed I am. I'm only left to wonder, who are you?" he asked gently, and saw her lips twitch up in a fast smile. She was small-by Midgardian standards, she'd be sixteen or seventeen, but she was still very small for her age.

"Lya," she said. Heimdall nodded, though he still wasn't quite satisfied, and looked up just as they met up with the Warriors Three and Sif.

"Thor is heavily guarded in the throne room, but the king is gone for now," Sif summarized. Loki nodded.

"I will slip in unnoticed," he said.

Sif shook her head. "No. You'll need your magic for when we have to go back. Everything from here on in—rescuing Thor, retrieving the Bifrost sword—must be done manually."

Loki hummed in response. "Fine. You four rescue Thor, I'll get the sword."

The Warriors Three and Sif nodded and ran off. Loki proceeded more calmly down the twisting hallways of the icy palace. He didn't feel the chill in the air, but Lya did. She tried to push away the shivers that threatened to take over her body and followed as they went deeper and deeper into the palace.

"Heimdall, can you see the sword?" Loki asked.

"Yes. It is far down, in the vault," he replied. "We are almost there."

Heimdall stepped in front of Loki and took the lead. All had their senses on high alert. Loki's hands were drifting towards his daggers, and he had to pull them back to his sides every once in a while. Lya looked down at her hands and had to stop the slight glow that came from her over tensed nerves, and Heimdall had to push away visions that came from his strained senses.

They finally reached the vault, and Loki popped the lock easily. Surprisingly, it wasn't guarded at all, and Lya felt a sense of wrongness to the situation.

"Too easy," Loki said softly as he stepped cautiously into the room with the Bifrost sword. Lya nodded in agreement, and the concern was evident in Heimdall's orange eyes. The door closed behind them, and Loki instantly spun around and shot a blast of magic at it. The ice stayed smooth, not even a scratch on its blue surface.

Loki cursed and drew two daggers. A burst of green light shot down both the daggers and melted into the metal, and Loki looked around cautiously in the icy room.

Suddenly, the temperature dropped considerably and doors began to slide open in the icy walls. Lya, Loki and Heimdall all backed towards each other as Frost Giants walked out of the inlets the doors opened up.

Eventually, the three were surrounded. They faced outwards, back against each other's, in a triangle. All were ready to fight.

Loki suddenly relaxed from his crouch and straightened. "It's futile. I'm bringing us back to Asgard," he said. He had already sheathed his daggers, and he put a hand on both Heimdall's and Lya's arm.

Lya felt a sharp pain shoot through her body like a lightning bolt and, with a flash of green light, she was thrown backwards. She hit something hard, and the "something" grunted from behind her. She felt ice-cold hands wrap around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides and holding her against the Frost Giant.

Loki was in a similar position across the room, but Heimdall was gone. Lya cast out her senses just a bit.

She cried out in pain as a lightning bolt of white-hot, fiery pain lanced through her skull. Her head started to pound. What had the Giants done to prevent magic in this room?

Loki twisted in his captor's arms, a dagger already poised, and thrust upwards. The point buried itself deep in the Frost Giant's chest, and he dropped. Loki twisted out of his embrace and turned to face the other seven that were still in the room, who launched themselves at Loki as he stood in the center of the room, daggers ready.

Lya twisted in her own captor's arms and tried to pull out one of her daggers, but the Frost Giant holding her seized her forearm and twisted it. She gasped in pain and dropped the dagger, and the last thing she saw was a blue fist swinging at her head before her vision went dark.


	8. Chapter 8: Capture

Loki spun and stabbed the Frost Giant who had been sneaking up behind him. He saw Lya crumple to the floor to his right; he paid no attention, but continued fending off his enemies.

Loki ducked and seized the nearest Frost Giant's wrist. He swung the Giant around to intercept the ice dagger that was coming for Loki's chest, but instead impaled the Frost Giant, who crumpled to the ground, lifeless. He then faced the Frost Giant who had been trying to stab him, and before he could react, he thrust one of his daggers forward.

The Jotun leaned to the side and caught his wrist as Loki's momentum brought his arm forward where the Frost Giant used to be. Loki felt his Aesir form slip away; his hands turned blue and his blood turned cold. He ignored the change and continued fighting, wrenching his wrist out of the Frost Giant's grasp and whirling to fend off an ice dagger aimed at his back.

A crushing weight suddenly jumped onto his shoulders from behind. Loki's knees buckled under the weight, and he threw the Frost Giant off. He got up quickly, but found himself surrounded by the six remaining Frost Giants.

They all leapt at him at once; his dagger flashed a few times, cutting several of them, before it was ripped from his hand. His wrists were pulled behind his back by cold, firm hands, and a Frost Giant stood in front of him as he stood, finally subdued, glaring at the Jotun in front of him.

The Frost Giant swung at Loki's head, and pain lanced through his skull as the blow connected before the world went black.

…

Lya woke slowly. The first thing she felt was a chill in the air; she forced her eyes open and her body went limp. She knew this place all too well.

She sat up, reluctantly, and looked around, already knowing what she would find. She was shackled to the icy walls around her; she was in nothing but a blank, ice room, with a small hole in the corner. The ice was stained yellow in that corner; Lya pointedly ignored that corner.

The Jotunheim prisons.

…

Loki woke instantly. He didn't open his eyes, though. He took in the feelings around him, still pretending to be asleep. He regulated his breathing; only someone who was watching him intently would notice the point where he woke up and his breathing quickened before he regained control and made it look as if he was sleeping again.

He was laying on something hard. Stone, maybe? A certain humidity pervaded the air. There were no lights, either, from the darkness behind his eyelids.

Loki felt the vibrating of approaching footsteps. They were heavy, and they stopped next to him.

Loki's heart nearly stopped when the person spoke with mock sympathy.

"Loki. Prince of Asgard. You should know by now that your tricks don't work on me."

Loki knew that voice too well. He'd spent a year with him, being abused by him. He'd be lucky to escape here alive—unless he needed Loki, of course.

Thanos.

…

Heimdall, the Warriors Three, Sif, and Thor stood in the throne room. Currently, they were arguing over how to rescue Lya, who they knew was in the Jotun prisons, but they did not know where Loki had been taken. He was concealed from Heimdall's view.

"Who else would have taken Loki?" Thor asked. "The Jotuns are going after Asgard for some reason, and they have Lya, but who would want Loki?"

"The Jotuns are going after Asgard because they're being manipulated by an outside force," Sif said. "It's possible this outside force wanted Loki."

Fandral nodded. "And who, or what, would that outside force be?"

"Do we know where Loki was the year he fell from the Bifrost? Where did he get that staff he tried to take over Midgard with? If he didn't die, but was instead transported somewhere else, where was that somewhere?" Sif speculated. The rest of the group considered. It was possible that whoever had taken him in for the year he'd been away wanted him again. But who was that? Loki had never shared where he had been that year, and no one had asked.

…

"You know, we were terribly worried when we couldn't find you," Thanos said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Loki laid on a stone table with only his pants on; in one hand, Thanos held an all-too-familiar whip. Without inspecting it, Loki knew it had an engraved leather handle for the best grip. The actual whip part had small, metal needles sticking out of it—just enough that it couldn't be seen, but it hurt like fire on the skin. Loki would know.

Loki remained silent. Thanos taunted him again.

"Silvertongue turned to lead?" he asked mockingly. Loki just glared at him as he leaned over Loki's prone form.

He decided to make a retort back, knowing it would cost him, but his day hadn't gone very well and his patience was running thin.

"Oh, I'm fine. It's you that will be regretting your words soon," he said, knowing it wasn't entirely true. He didn't have any real power over Thanos.

Thanos's sarcastic smile changed into a frown.

"Turn him over," he commanded the nearby Chitauri. Loki didn't struggle as he was flipped onto his stomach and held down by four Chitauri. He braced himself for the whiplash he knew was coming.

It never came, and Loki's patience ran out. He had let down Asgard, again—Thanos wouldn't let him go without forcing him to fight for him, and Loki might never be forgiven this time. The prince almost wanted the pain, to drown out the pain he felt at being rejected by Asgard again. He wanted to be on good terms with Asgard, no matter how much he told himself he didn't care. Especially Thor—he couldn't bear to let Thor down. That was a feeling he had tried, and failed, for centuries to cover up.

So in his anger, he made another retort back. "Are you hesitating, Thanos, Ruler of the Universe? What's made you so soft, hmm?" he taunted. He let his voice drip with mockery just as the purple titan's did, and gritted his teeth as another whip wound was layered over the multitudes of the ones he already had. He felt the thousand tiny little needles burn into his flesh, and he welcomed the pain. In fact, he gave a small smirk.

"Is that the best you can do?"

...

"Heimdall, can you see anything?" Thor asked anxiously. The gatekeeper turned his golden eyes on the king, and they danced with amusement at Thor's anxiety. He'd never seen Thor so nervous; usually the God of Thunder was confident-perhaps a bit too confident. Uncertainty, as with surrender, wasn't in his nature.

"If I see something, I shall tell you, my king," he said, then, with a hint of teasing in his tone, "I believe it would do better for you to stop asking and allow me to concentrate." Heimdall glanced at Thor, whose lips just quirked up a bit before returning to their nervous frown.

"I may be able to break through the invisibility yet," he continued, back to his serious nature. "It is growing weaker by the minute. This is not Loki's spell; it is his captor's, for Loki's magic feels much different than this magic does. If his captor-" Heimdall stopped abruptly. He focused on the pulses of Loki's presence that seemed to reverberate everywhere-the effect of the invisibility.

"What? What is it?" Thor demanded. Heimdall stood still for a moment, silent.

The pulses were overlapped now with a stronger pulse, and it was in a direction. Carefully, Heimdall cast out his senses.

He was hit with a vivid image; it was as if he was there, more so than normal. It was mostly dark, but Heimdall could make out a crude stone table, with a familiar, lean figure on the table, surrounded by four of what he recognized as Chitauri.

Heimdall almost lost the image as he received smells and feelings from it; usually he only saw and heard. Now, he could smell the scent of blood, and the humidity in the air. He moved a bit closer, walking around the Chitauri to see the figure that was behind the stone table.

"You'll see," came the voice. "I'll rule the universe, and you'll help me. This universe is becoming too big, too populated. We'll destroy ourselves. We'll run out of resources, and then we will all go extinct. You see, I can't have that. Just imagine-what would happen if half the universe was destroyed? Gone? It would save us. We'd have enough resources for everyone to go around. The universe would flourish, thrive, no longer doomed by our ignorance."

Heimdall didn't recognize the voice, but he recognized the one that came after it-sarcastic, defiant, and somehow completely calm.

"Oh? And we 'flourish,' as you say," Loki said, his voice positively dripping with sass, "and we start to use up all our resources again. Will you destroy half the universe then? Will you condemn yourself to an eternity of making sure your precious universe doesn't overstep their boundaries? Doesn't seem like a pleasant existence to me."

Heimdall saw the figure's arm raise back, and he saw the thin flash and the crack as a whip came down. No sound came from Loki.

"You don't get it. But, you will," the other voice said. "Even if I have to do what I did years ago, when you first came to me. You seemed to willingly try to subjugate Midgard, didn't you? I'll just have to repeat that trick, except. . .more time. Many more months, and I've come up with several new. . . _persuasion_ . . . devices."

Heimdall fully expected Loki to stop talking right then, for his comments only angered the figure more. But, to his surprise, he continued.

"And when you die? Your plan has flaws, Thanos," he said condescendingly. "Too many, actually. You didn't simply take me again because you wanted a pawn, did you? You needed my intelligence. Because, after all you've thought this through, only the God of Mischief can perfect it. After all, I've had centuries of practice."

"Oh, yes. I knew you'd figure it out. Now all I need is to give you an incentive. I'm sure this will influence your decision," the figure-Thanos-said. The whip cracked again, and the smell of blood was newly fresh in the air. Heimdall watched on, feeling a pang of sympathy for the fallen prince. He never wished for this to happen, even after Loki had done things that were seemingly unforgivable.

And who knew that he was being controlled when he tried to subjugate Midgard? Heimdall had never seen or felt Loki during that year he was gone, so he had no idea, and no one else had apparently noticed either.

The vision suddenly cut off and Heimdall was jerked back to the present. Thor stood beside him, looking concernedly at him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I believe I have discovered where Loki is."


	9. Chapter 9: Struggles

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait. My mom got really mad at me (over something really trivial) and between living and uploading a new chapter on time, I choose life. But here it is, the questions last chapter's cliffhanger brought have been answered (only to bring more questions. ehehehe)._

 _Enjoy!_

"Oh yes. I knew you'd figure it out. Now all I need is to give you an incentive. I'm sure this will influence your decision," Thanos said. Loki bit back a cry of pain as the whip lashed down on his back again. The needles bit into his skin, feeling as if tiny little fires were being ignited in his back.

Loki felt Heimdall's presence vanish suddenly. No one could see the gatekeeper, but Loki sensed that he was watching. Loki had purposely distracted Thanos so he would keep his guard down and so Heimdall would see he was not going to willingly fight for Thanos, whatever the titan made him do or not. And, he admitted part of his sarcastic comments was him being angry at himself for letting himself get caught. And by Thanos, no less!

Loki felt for his magic. It was still there; very subtly, he extracted a small portion of it. He held it inside of him, waiting for the right moment.

Thanos's arm swung back again. It seemed to come towards Loki in slow motion. It hit his back—

Loki pushed the small bit of magic outwards with all his strength. Thanos and the Chitauri holding him down all shot away from him, and Loki, ignoring the immense pain in his back—enchanted pain he couldn't heal—sat up and jumped off the stone table. He watched the four Chitauri coming at him.

They leapt at him—

He was gone. Loki teleported a mile away. The Chitauri looked around in confusion, then went to find Thanos. Their quarry was gone.

Loki knew he was on Midgard—well, sort of. He was on the same physical plane as Earth—very far from it, but he was still on Midgard. He didn't know of any portals besides the one he came through the first time, and he had no desire to jump off the edge of this world and hope he didn't die.

Loki felt his strength wane. Using magic without one's hands was extremely physically taxing—it was only for the most desperate of situations.

Loki considered this desperate.

"Loki, Loki, Loki. You should know that there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where we cannot find you. Don't you know that?" Thanos's voice called mockingly across the planet, and Loki felt his heart skip a beat.

Yep. Definitely desperate.

Loki heard the Chitauri approaching. It was a new group, but they recognized him immediately and moved to capture him.

Loki waited, one dagger drawn and his other hand gathering magic, until they formed a circle around him. He watched each one, his eyes darting from one to the other.

They leaped.

Loki closed his fist with the magic and he felt himself move in space, teleporting another mile away. He ignored the waves of exhaustion still washing over him from his initial escape, and strained his senses. As of now, he had no way out of Midgard. They hadn't succeeded in retrieving the Bifrost sword, so he could only hope that Heimdall told Thor about what he saw and that Thor would send out a rescue team.

Loki felt something jump on his back, and instantly teleported away. He had no plan except to stall, and he knew that wouldn't last forever.

"Loki," Thanos's voice rang out, seemingly everywhere, above the planet. "You can run, but you can't hide. Why make it worse for yourself? You have the intelligence to know that fighting only irritates me."

Oh, he knew. He had the scars, and the memories. He had the nightmares occasionally. Loki would wake up in a cold sweat from the nightmares, his heart pounding from the fear he had felt.

But he'd still fight.

…

"Are we ready?"

Thor stood in front of a portal with the Warriors Three and Sif behind him. He was turned to face them, all fully armored, and he held Mjolnir in one hand. In his anger, the hammer sparked with lightning occasionally, and a light but persistent drizzle had started around then.

He got four nods from the Warriors in front of him, and he turned abruptly and walked into the wall.

Thor came out on Midgard, on a different physical plane, but still in the same realm. Sif and the Warriors Three followed soon after. They looked around. It seemed uninhabited, but all five jumped at the sudden voice that seemed to come from all around them.

"The fallen Prince of Asgard. How you irritate me. You should know that this will only bring you pain. More pain than I had originally planned for you."

They became even more startled as Loki appeared before them. He was turned away, and there was a Chitauri attacking him. He threw the monster off, but it leaped back just as he teleported away, and it went with Loki.

"Well, we know that he's here," Fandral said dryly.

"We must stay together. There are too many of them for us to fight alone," Thor said. He started walking confidently.

Sif and the Warriors Three followed him, weapons drawn, as they navigated the maze of rock formations. They heard yelling in the distance; their senses were all on high alert.

All five jumped suddenly as a portal opened, and six figures came flying out. One came before the rest; it was a flash of black, and it slammed into the nearby rock formation. Five Chitauri came leaping out after, and all five ambushed the figure.

Thor immediately rushed towards the Chitauri and swung his hammer. Two of the monsters went flying; one other fell, dead, in front of Loki, who started on the next one with his daggers.

Sif and the Warriors Three followed soon after. Together, they defeated the five Chitauri within five minutes.

Thor immediately went to see to Loki, who lay slumped against the rock formation, chest bare, blood running down multiple large gashes across his body.

Sif and the Warriors Three guarded against any future attacks, forming a semi-circle around Thor and Loki and watching in all directions, weapons drawn.

"I can heal myself," Loki said to Thor. Thor shook his head adamantly.

"No, you cannot. Bring us back, at the very least," Thor said firmly. "Are you able to?"

Loki sighed and nodded. "Yes. Bring them here."

Thor did as asked and, with Thor, the Warriors Three, and Sif all laying their hands on Loki's arms and shoulders, Loki gathered up his last bit of strength, a good portion of his magic, and attempted to move between realms.

…

"What does Asgard plan to do with our declaration of war?" the Jotun king asked the small, kneeling figure at his feet.

Lya didn't know, but she couldn't say that. She had already been here for fifteen minutes, and the king had asked the same question six times already. She had said she didn't know every time, but he didn't believe her.

"I told you, I don't know," she said. "I—"

"Silence!" he bellowed. The Frost Giant behind Lya growled menacingly, and she cringed. She didn't want another bruise from their abuse, but she honestly didn't know what Thor or Loki planned to do with Jotunheim's declaration of war.

Unless she lied. . .


	10. Chapter 10: Escape

_A/N: This is more of a lighthearted chapter. A break from all the drama. :)_

"Where's Lya?" Loki demanded from his seat in his room in the healer's wing. A Soul Forge was in the corner, along with a bed, a small table, and two chairs. On the table was a tray of food, which lay untouched.

"We—we don't know. We went after you first," Thor said. Loki's annoyance only increased.

"Why didn't you go after her?" he demanded. "I can take care of myself. She's not so fortunate, and she's more important."

Thor shrugged and looked away, slightly ashamed. "I didn't really think of her, to be honest."

Loki sighed. "Well, we have to go after her. I have a feeling she is more than she seems."

"How so?" Thor looked back at Loki, curious.

"She's more powerful than even she knows, I think. I can feel her magic radiating off of her. Vast amounts of it. When she uses her magic against me in our little magic battles, she barely scratches the surface of it. I just don't know how to unlock that immense power," he replied. He stood up from the bed-he had healed his wounds as soon as he had regained his strength, though the enchanted whip wounds couldn't be healed. They hadn't completely scarred over yet.

"Excuse me! Oh no, you don't!" Eir's voice came from the doorway as she entered. She looked irritated. "You're not leaving until those wounds scar over. You may be a prince, but I still have every right to keep you here for as long as needed, whether you like it or not." Her voice was firm, and Loki cracked a grin.

"All right, all right. I'll stay," he said with a laugh, and settled back down in the seat, trying not to wince as his back pushed against the cushion behind him. Eir nodded satisfactorily, and she turned to leave, giving him one last firm glance before she closed the door with a soft click. Her footsteps receded quietly down the hallway, off to see another patient. They were just waiting for his wounds to scar; he wasn't the healers' top priority at the moment.

This he used to his advantage.

Loki glanced mischievously at Thor. It took his brother a moment to realize what he was thinking, before he instantly started to protest.

"No, no, no, no, no. Loki, you heard her! Would you really rather face the wrath of Eir after rescuing Lya and possibly hurting yourself more than stay and let the Warriors Three, Sif, and I retrieve her?" The side of Thor's lips quirked up into a smile. They both knew what it was like to have Eir angry at you-neither had stayed in the healer's for as long as they should've as children. They had been pulling schemes like this since they were little, which was why, every time they got hurt, they seemed to be put even farther into the healer's wing, with more healers around.

But they couldn't possibly hope to keep the God of Mischief contained.

Loki broke out into a slow, mischievous grin. "I do what I want," he said simply.

And he was gone.

…

Thor walked forlornly out of the healer's room. He found Eir and she looked at him expectantly, though her face changed to irritation when he saw Thor's despairing face.

"I couldn't stop him. He left-again," Thor explained simply.

Eir laughed. "Again. You know, I thought you two had grown out of this," she said as she started to run down the halls.

Thor called after her, mock-offended. "Hey, this time it wasn't me! I haven't done this for years!"

"Doesn't mean you haven't grown out of it!" she called back, flashing him a playful smile as she jogged around a corner at the end of the hall. Thor smiled and shook his head. It was exactly like old times, except Eir would be running after the both of them.

 _"Hey." Loki's soft voice came from the bed beside Thor's. Thor turned on his side and looked at him, curious at the mischief dancing in Loki's eyes._

 _"I can get us both out of here," he said._

 _"But we have lots of cuts from sparring! And they hurt!" Thor protested, ignoring the stinging he felt on his side from the multitudes of cuts they had there. They were forced to let the wounds heal naturally-Odin and Eir said it wouldn't do to have two sons who got themselves hurt recklessly because they believed any wound could be healed with magic. Not every wound could._

 _"I can heal them. And wouldn't you rather go play Jotuns and Asgardians with Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif? I know I'd rather go practice magic with Mother than be here," Loki retorted._

 _"But can't Mother just come in here and practice magic with you?"_

 _Loki rolled his eyes. "That's not the point. I hate it here-it's boring and I can't leave."_

 _Thor finally considered for a moment, glancing at Loki several times before he finally relented. "All right. What's your plan?"_

 _"When two healers come in, I can make them go to sleep with a spell I learned. Then, we can take their coats and pretend to be healers. We will be able to walk right out," he said. Thor paused, then nodded._

 _They returned to laying back on their beds, staring at the ceiling, when said healers walked in, all smiles and laughs as they faced the two young princes. They sat down in the chairs in the room, neither noticing Loki's blanket twitching rapidly as his hands moved to cast the spell._

 _Loki glanced at Thor, who nodded, and Loki sent out the magic. He struggled to push it through the thick blanket, but he made it. The healers' eyes widened, but then they slumped back in their chairs and their eyes closed._

 _Thor started to move, but Loki stopped him. He stayed still until both the healers' breathing changed to that of deep sleep, and then Loki relaxed._

 _"I wasn't sure it would work," he said as he got out of bed. He slipped the blue coat off of one of the healers and put it on over his green shirt. It went down to his knees; he wasn't very tall._

 _Thor did likewise, and together they walked towards the door._

 _Loki turned towards Thor and took his gaze away from the hallway through the crack in the door, which was slightly ajar._

 _"So, we have to be quick. We're not exactly an adult, so we have to walk really fast through the hallways before they have time to react," he said, another mischievous smile slowly breaking out on his face. Thor nodded and Loki swung open the door._

 _They walked fast out of the healer's wing, making it to freedom in the golden Asgardian palace hallways._

 _No sooner had they turned the corner than they heard Eir running after them. Thor and Loki shared a glance, and then both shed the healers' coats and started sprinting down the hallways._

 _They made it to the gardens and Loki darted into a bush. Thor did likewise, and both stifled giggles as they heard Eir slow to a walk in the gardens._

 _Both of the young princes couldn't help but grin when they saw Eir's smile. She laughed and looked towards the bushes._

 _"You know, there's only so many times I can do this until I simply post guards at your room when you get hurt," she said playfully. She started walking, and she sat down on a bench nearby. "I guess I'll just have to wait for you two to come out," she said._

 _Thor and Loki both crept out of their hiding spots, defeated. Eir grinned as Thor came to sit beside her on the bench. Loki came from behind, seemingly materializing on the bench beside her._

 _"I knew that would work," she said. "Now, why don't we go back to the healer's wing and stay in our rooms, like we're supposed to?"_

 _"No!" Thor cried and tried to jump away, but Eir's hand flashed out and seized the young prince's wrist. Her tone became more serious, but still playful, as Eir stood up and pulled Thor along. Loki followed willingly._

 _Thor glanced at Loki, who gave a mischievous smile, and his glance turned into a glare._

 _They were almost to the healer's wing when Eir glanced to her right, where Loki was._

 _Or had been._

 _She saw the empty space beside her and spun around. Then, seeing nothing behind her but the golden walls of the palace, she laughed._

 _"Oh, Loki. I never could keep him contained. He'd always escape somehow," she mused with a smile. She led Thor along._

 _"Why didn't he take me with him?" Thor muttered quietly to himself. He'd make Loki pay for that later—now Thor was condemned to the healer's wing while his brother ran free. For a while, at least._

 _Damn Loki and his magic!_

Thor returned to the present. He glanced down the healer's hallway with a small smile on his face at the memory.

He nodded to himself, content, and started walking down the hallway.

…

"You let him get away?"

Thanos faced a Chitauri, who knelt before him. He had watched from the shadows as Loki had been taken away to Asgard, with the other Asgardians. He'd reported to Thanos, expecting him to be praised, but instead he was being scolded.

"Yes. They would have overpowered me. This way, I can inform you of their whereabouts and what condition they are in. An attack now would be best. The two brothers are weakened, and Asgard surely hasn't recovered from our previous capture," he said.

Thanos grunted. "I suppose so. I let my anger get the best of me. You are correct. Gather the troops."

The Chitauri rose and watched Thanos as he stared into the distance, dreaming of the new world he'd build—without the God of Thunder in it. He'd deal with the God of Mischief—he knew Loki wasn't invincible. And, if he proved unobtainable, then he'd simply . . . eliminate him.

"Prepare for an attack."


	11. Chapter 11: Memories

_A/N: Now that I reread this chapter, it's short and kind of pointless. . . just memories and Loki pain._

Loki walked confidently through the hallways. He suppressed a smirk as he waited for Eir to come after him.

His face sobered as Loki remembered his youth. He'd been so innocent then . . . he hadn't known what he was.

He looked down at his left hand; he let it turn blue. He was a monster; he couldn't ever be normal. What was he doing here?

Loki stopped and looked around at the palace around him. Golden, shining . . . it suited Thor. Not him. He shouldn't be here; he didn't want the throne anymore, and somehow he had been content with being a prince again. How had he ever thought he would belong on Asgard?

The blue faded from his hand, and Loki continued walking. He wandered aimlessly, letting his feet take him wherever they wanted.

He remembered the day he'd found out about his heritage so vividly, as if it was yesterday. In his life, it practically was yesterday. Twelve years was not a long time compared to how long he lived.

It still caused him pain to think about it. To think about how Odin had betrayed him, lied to him. Loki was the God of Lies, and he was a mastermind at lying and manipulation, but this was too far. Thor lying to him about a plan was one thing (he was rather uncooperative at the moment, he admitted, remembering his sarcastic remarks during the entire escape to Svartalfheim), but Odin keeping his heritage from him was another thing entirely.

And his heritage! Odin took him from Jotunheim as a political bargaining piece. That did not sit well with Loki. It made him feel as if he was less than human, less than living, even. An object to be used—or, as he said, just another stolen relic.

Loki stopped suddenly. He broke out of his thoughts and looked up, then gave a short, sarcastic laugh. Of course he'd bring himself here. It was where all his troubles had started.

He nodded to the guards guarding the doors to the vault and walked in. He let his feet take him to the Casket of Ancient Winters.

 _Loki walked slowly over to it. He picked it up, standing still as his skin changed, ignoring the Destroyer gradually rousing in front of him. How could he be a Frost Giant? It wasn't possible . . ._

 _"Stop!"_

 _Loki heard Odin's voice behind him, and gritted his teeth. He didn't know how, but he had a feeling Odin had a major part in all this._

 _And his feelings were usually right._

 _"Am I cursed?" he asked, still not willing to turn around and face Odin. The Destroyer went back to sleep in his cage._

 _"No," Odin replied. Loki put the Casket down, his skin returning to the normal Aesir color, and he turned to face Odin._

 _"What am I?"_

 _"You're my son." Even Loki could see his hesitation as Odin said that. That wasn't it. That wasn't all that he was. He knew Odin was lying-again. He started walking towards Odin, who stood on the steps._

 _"What more than that?"_

"Loki?"

Loki sighed. He turned around and saw Eir. She walked towards him, the irritation at his escape from the healer's wing melting when she saw where he had gone.

Eir stepped forward. "Still mourning over that day?"

Loki paused, then shook his head. He started walking briskly out. "No. It's fine."

Eir caught his arm. "Loki, I've been Odin's lead healer for thousands of years. Longer than you've lived. I know when someone isn't happy."

Loki stepped back and sighed. Eir dropped her hand from his arm.

"I'm a monster," he said simply. He didn't trust himself; if he went any farther, he'd spill the whole thing to her. He wasn't very fond of sharing his feelings.

"No, you're not," Eir said firmly. "Monsters are not born, they are made. You were born a Frost Giant and raised an Asgardian. You were never made into a monster. Your heritage does not make you."

Loki glanced sideways from his study of the wall beyond Eir. He'd never been truly, honestly comforted by anyone but Frigga, so this felt new to him. He had thought that, should anyone find out about what he was, they wouldn't accept him.

"Thank you, but I do not need your comfort," he said coldly. He knew he was pushing her away because she was breaking the defenses he'd put up around himself, but he didn't care. He couldn't afford to share his feelings, and he didn't like it, either.

Loki walked swiftly away again, and Eir let him.

…

Eir looked after Loki as he left. She had seen the pain in his eyes. She had broken through, if only for a moment. Eir had been informed of Loki's . . . predicament after Odin had fallen into the Odinsleep. Frigga had asked her and Heimdall to look after him. She had only wanted to protect Loki.

Eir only hoped that he would see the truth—he was not a monster and never was, no matter what he believed.

…

Loki sat in his chambers. Him, Thor, the Warriors Three, and Sif were set to rescue Lya tonight. The war with Jotunheim was on hold temporarily. Right now, it was simply light attacks—such as holding the king, prince, Gatekeeper, and new visitor of Asgard captive. Neither realm had actually sent an army out, and neither realm planned on it in the very near future.

Loki felt troubled. He was revisiting his old feelings about Odin, Frigga, and Thor. He had put it off when he was exposed by Thor as playing Odin. After Thor and him settled their argument over how Loki had stranded Odin in Norway on Midgard, Thor had taken his place as king—though mere weeks ago, he had said he didn't want to take his place as king. Loki was made a prince of Asgard, and since then . . . he hadn't really given much thought to what had happened before.

He loved Frigga. That was a definite fact.

 _Then am I not your mother?_

He remembered that conversation all too well. That was when he had to face the fact that Frigga was not family, and his heart had cracked a little at that. Of course, later on it broke completely at her death.

 _No, you're not._

He felt that same feeling he felt before. The feeling of steeling himself against something; in this case, the fact that the person he loved most was not his family. His family was, instead, cold, brutal Frost Giants.

He turned his thoughts to Thor. That was a complicated relationship. He did love Thor, almost equal to Frigga, but he also hated him at the same time. That wasn't a part of his relationship with Frigga. He had often times covered up his brotherly love for Thor with the hate he felt at the time, but after twelve years, he found he still had those feelings for him.

Loki stood up abruptly. He had to stop this—he'd never been good at feelings. This would only make him weak. He dismissed his earlier thoughts and walked out of the room. He needed to get lunch.


	12. Chapter 12: Infiltration

_A/N: I'm losing interest in this story. This might be the last chapter for a while. Enjoy._

Loki, Thor, the Warriors Three, and Sif all stared up at the majesty of the Jotun palace. They had their weapons drawn, and Loki had cast an invisibility spell on them all.

For now.

They leapt forward and, just as they began to attack the guards, the spell dissipated and they became plainly visible. They dispatched the two guards swiftly, and slipped inside before any alarms were sounded.

By predetermined plan, they split up down the three hallways they encountered when first entering the palace. Loki and Sif went one way, Fandral and Hogun the other, and Thor and Volstagg the final path.

Loki cast another invisibility spell on the both of them. He encountered no guards; he and Sif made his way down as best he could. They were both silent as cats, and quick as them too.

Meanwhile, Fandral and Hogun crept stealthily across a hallway in front of a massive ice door. There were two guards in front of it, and they didn't notice as Fandral and Hogun stood in decorative alcoves along the walls on either side. Fandral threw a dagger between the guards, which stuck in the ice of the door and quivered before staying still. He hid behind the wall of the alcove and waited.

"Who is it?" one of the guards asked cautiously. They both moved forward, ice spears pointed forwards.

Fandral and Hogun waited until they stood practically beside them. Then, in one fluid motion, they turned and stabbed the guards in the chests. They fell silently, their eyes wide with shock as they saw their attackers.

"This is usually not like us, tricking people like this," Hogun said.

Fandral made a face. "Oh no. I think something terrible has happened," he said, suppressing a grin.

"What?" Hogun looked only mildly concerned. What could've happened in the past thirty seconds that was so terrible?

"Loki is rubbing off on us!" Fandral claimed grandly, and he finally let a huge grin spread across his face.

Hogun let out a short laugh. "Well, maybe his influence isn't so bad after all," he said, thinking of how they'd killed the guards without raising an alarm. He'd always thought Loki wasn't a warrior because of his magic, though he'd acknowledged that Loki was a great fighter with it. And, they all knew firsthand that Loki was a formidable enemy. They'd never really known why he'd become so cold towards Asgard—or maybe he'd always been that way—but they'd fought him anyway. Fandral was slightly ashamed of it, but all three of the Warriors didn't think they could fight Thor in the same situation, though they'd done so readily for Loki. He wasn't entirely sure that Hogun or Volstagg felt the same, but Fandral didn't particularly like his willingness to fight Loki. It was almost as if he _wanted_ to prove him wrong.

They both enjoyed the lighthearted moment before turning back to the door. It was the door to the throne room; they had to be very careful from now on. If the king was in there, then they had to find another way.

Fandral put his ear to the icy door and tried to listen, while Hogun stood guard. He listened for a few moments, until finally he straightened and sighed.

"Nothing. The ice is too thick to hear anything through it." Fandral turned towards Hogun. "We'll just have to open it and hope for the best."

Hogun nodded solemnly.

Fandral turned back towards the massive door and hooked his fingers through one of the elaborate carvings, which was specially designed away from the door to form a loop for a door handle. The loop was much bigger than Fandral's two hands, which weren't as massive as a Frost Giant's, and he found it a struggle to wrap his hands all the way around the handle and pull out.

Hogun added in his efforts, and they moved the door open a little. Fandral and Hogun both stopped and rested, their gloves the only things protecting their hands from the cold. Fandral put his ear to the crack of the door yet again.

"What do you know about what Asgard plans to do? I know you know something. Don't lie to me!" The Jotun king's voice boomed throughout the chamber, firm and angry.

Fandral didn't recognize the voice that came after, but he had a feeling it was the girl they were looking for.

"I don't know."

"Don't LIE to me!" Fandral winced as he heard a frighteningly feminine cry of pain from inside, and the pleasurable growl of a Frost Giant.

He turned back to Hogun.

"Looks like we've found what we came for," he said. Hogun nodded, and Fandral spun back around suddenly. Both threw themselves at the door, and it swung open just enough for them to slip in.

They ran away from the door, weapons drawn, using the temporary moment of surprise to dispatch one of the four Frost Giants in the room besides the king.

"Who dares disturb me without announcement?" The king's voice was even angrier than before. His temper was short; Fandral and Hogun had to hurry up.

In Fandral's moment of distraction, his opponent slashed him across the face. He grunted in pain and stabbed the Frost Giant in the stomach. His eyes widened as he fell, dropping his ice dagger and thudding heavily on the ground on his back, eyes staring unseeingly at the ceiling.

Hogun whirled around to catch the blade of an ice dagger raised above his head, pointed down to split his skull. He twisted the Frost Giant's arm down and used his other hand to stop the Giant's other arm, which jerked to stab into his stomach. His hand slid down the Giant's arm to pull the ice dagger out of the hand that had moved to stab him, and, in a quick flash of motion, he drove the point of the dagger into the Frost Giant's chest. The Giant's eyes widened in surprise, he dropped his other dagger, and he fell. Hogun dropped his limp form on the icy floor.

Hogun tossed aside the Giant's ice dagger and picked up his own sword, which he had dropped to block the Giant's attacks. He spun and faced the final Giant, which held Lya in a headlock.

The only thing stopping Hogun from attacking was the Giant's blade at Lya's throat.

…

Thor and Volstagg walked confidently down the icy Jotun hallways. Neither used stealth; Thor could defeat any enemy with his hammer, and Volstagg wasn't exactly in the right shape for stealth.

Neither thought of the alarms, as Fandral, Loki, Hogun, and Sif had.

So they didn't muffle their footsteps, or sneak up on the guards, or even pull open the doors like civilized people. Instead, knowing it would take far too long to pull the doors open, Thor threw Mjolnir so it crashed through the ice and then he called it back to him. He did this three times to make a decent size hole for them to walk through. Fortunately, no one sounded an alarm—though they were very close to it.

They found the throne room, and the door was already ajar. Thor and Volstagg pulled it open further, and they looked on a depressing scene.

Lya was in the center with a Frost Giant holding her and an ice dagger at her throat. Hogun stood frozen in front of the Giant, who pushed the dagger in slightly if Hogun so much as twitched in his direction. Fandral was behind them, and he crept up silently with his sword drawn.

The king opened his mouth and let out a warning; the Frost Giant holding Lya spun around just as Fandral lunged forward, sword outstretched and pointed towards the Giant's throat.

His sword stabbed cleanly through the Giant's neck, and his eyes widened in shock. The Frost Giant tried to scream, but it ended up as a low, wet gurgle as he fell on his knees and toppled over forward. The Giant lay still face-down on the floor, and Fandral rushed over to Lya.

He hacked at the ice on her hands, while Hogun, Thor and Volstagg approached the king.

"Brave," the king said simply. He smiled cruelly. "But will you be able to get out?"

All four turned and their eyes widened as Frost Giants started marching in. All bore ice daggers, all had malicious red eyes . . .

And all wanted to kill the five intruders in their king's throne room.


	13. Chapter 13: Home

_A/N: Inspiration for this story has been regained! There should be a few more chapters... :) Enjoy! (and please review. six reviews is kind of depressing. sorry.)_

Loki and Sif made it down about halfway before Loki abruptly broke off the staircase into a seemingly empty hallway. Sif hadn't bothered to think to check this one because it had no cells, but Loki strode quickly down it and stopped at the icy wall at the far end.

"What are you—" Sif was cut off as Loki swiped his finger in the air in front of the wall in several fast motions. His finger left a line of green fire in the air, forming an unfamiliar symbol. He pushed it in and the symbol was pushed into the wall, dissipating into smoke as the ice wall slid to the left, revealing a chamber beyond.

Loki strode through and Sif paused for a moment in temporary surprise before she hurried to catch up with his long strides, which had already taken him halfway across the chamber.

He repeated the magical process with the next wall, and finally revealed the final room, which held a pedestal the Bifrost sword was on.

"How did you know—" Sif started as Loki walked up and pulled the sword out.

"I knew they'd move the sword after their trap had been sprung. Why not here, in the most secure cell of them all?" he said, and walked out the way they came.

"It's that easy? Why—how—" Sif hurried after Loki, and she ran in front of him. He stopped and met her brown eyes with his green.

"It can't be this easy," she explained. "There has to be something else—something that we're not seeing. The Jotuns would not make the Bifrost sword this easy to steal."

Loki shrugged. "I've apparently stolen it, so if you'd like to get captured by dawdling any longer, that's your choice," he said. He sidestepped her and strode back out to the hallway.

Sif huffed and hurried after him. It seemed they'd be doing it this way.

She followed Loki as they returned back up the stairs. He paused at the top and looked down the deserted hallway before them. Sif shivered; he strode forward and paused again in the middle of the hallway.

"What?" Sif walked up to stand beside him.

"This hallway is too empty. We slipped past at least seven guards on our way down. Where did they go?"

He touched Sif's hand and suddenly they were in the throne room. Loki pulled his hand away as quickly as he had put it on her hand and drew two daggers as he faced the chaotic scene before them.

Fandral, Hogun, Thor, and Lya all stood in the center. Frost Giants crowded the room, all snarling menacingly at the four figures in the center. Volstagg was at the edge of the crowd, and he faced his own audience of Frost Giants.

No one noticed Loki's sudden appearance, but Fandral's eyes darted to him, then back to the Frost Giants, and he lunged.

All hell broke loose after that. Loki managed to dispatch several Giants before they noticed he was there and started attacking him. He faced three at once; two went down with a burst of magic and the third fell under his blade. Six more took their place. He slashed at one's arm and pushed another away with his magic. Two came behind him and he spun out of their reach, driving his blade sideways in a large arc. He managed to decapitate one and give another a long gash on his chest. The third his blade skimmed within a hair's-breadth of his chest. He faced the remaining two that jumped at him, and ducked between both. He came out behind them, and while pulling out a second dagger, stabbed both in the back. He then sensed someone behind him and pulled out one of the daggers, whirling and stabbing the next Frost Giant in one smooth motion.

Loki was panting slightly as he crouched, tense, and looked around the chamber. No one was coming at him for the moment; he spotted Fandral facing three Frost Giants at once and joined him in the battle. He stabbed one in the back and then the two turned and faced both Fandral and Loki. They defeated them quickly and proceeded to join someone else's battle.

Loki finished off another Frost Giant, but they seemed to keep coming. For every one he killed, two more took its place. It was like a hydra, and he hated those.

He fought beside Fandral again. Loki leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Gather everyone near me. I will try to get us out of here," he said. Fandral glanced at him and nodded, then dispatched his enemy and moved to fight beside Volstagg.

Five minutes later, Loki, Fandral, Hogun, Sif, Volstagg, Thor, and Lya all stood in the center of the room. Loki concentrated as he fought the Frost Giant, and suddenly they were back on Asgard.


	14. Chapter 14: Discontinuation Notice

This isn't a chapter, it's a discontinuation notice.

I've lost all inspiration for this story. I'm terrible with finishing stories anyway, and six reviews? That's a bit depressing. I've read multiple stories where there have been at least twenty reviews after the first ten chapters, and that's when the fic was still being updated, not after the writer had long since abandoned it and everything was uploaded.

Anyway, to the six people who reviewed, thank you for the support, and for the one who gave me royalty advice, I'll use that in the future, but otherwise, this story is discontinued. I'm going to let anyone who wants to continue this story as long as they give me credit for what I wrote.

I have another story which is a collection of young Loki and Thor one-shots called _Stories of Innocence._ I also have a post-fall collection of one-shots called _The End._ Both are still in progress, but this is discontinued, though anyone who gives me credit for this portion of the story can continue it as they like.

-sam :)


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